Saved in a Flash
by unicorg221B
Summary: When Hayley was struck by lightning & gained superpowers, she thought taking on meta-humans was hard - until she stumbled upon the Winchester brothers & their world of monsters, demons & all things supernatural. Now she's fighting alongside them, trying to make the world a safer place. This follows Supernatural #1.16 onward with a few Flashverse crossovers! Mostly Canon/Little AU
1. Chapter 1: Shadow (16)

_Disclaimer:_

All characters and content belong to the geniuses at CW, DC Comics (Flash, Supergirl, Arrow, Legends) & Supernatural unless stated otherwise.

I've been a huge fan of these shows since they started, although my heart definitely belongs to Supernatural. But as a self-declared comic geek, I simply couldn't resist the challenge of creating my own superheroine in the image of my favorite superhero and introducing her into my favorite show :)

So here it is! Happy reading! ;)

* * *

 **1\. Shadow (SPN 1.16)**

She was standing in the parking lot, leaning casually against a lamp post as the light shined down on her red suit. She wasn't worried anyone would notice her. It was dark and this was a deadbeat town in the middle of nowhere.

She felt her butt vibrating and looked at the screen of her phone. She sighed at the name.

"John?"

" _How are my boys?_ " She could sense a smile on his face. John was a scary dude unless he talked about his sons.

"They're fine." She glanced over to the motel where they were cozily staying at while she was standing here in the pouring rain like a creep. "Haven't seen that demon girl – Meg – either yet since Sam left that bus station in Indiana," she told him emotionlessly like it was some sort of official report she had to deliver.

" _Good, that's good._ " He sounded relieved. She rolled her eyes. _They would always be safe if it weren't for you and your insane agenda,_ she thought.

"John," she started to say but hesitated. She knew exactly what he would say. It's not like she hadn't tried before. "Are you sure you're doing the right thing here by not telling them?"

" _Just keep them safe_." He hung up. Of course, he did. She let out a frustrated groan.

She had met John Winchester a few months ago when Central City was plagued by a vampire nest. Back then, she thought meta-humans were a handful to deal with until she learnt vampires were an actual thing.

One of them had taken her adoptive sister, Iris. She had no idea _what_ had taken her, but she knew she had to find her sister anyways. When she ran blindly into the nest, she almost got herself killed, and Iris too. Fortunately for them, John Winchester had already been onto those vampires and cut their heads off with a machete almost effortlessly. He had saved both of their lives that day and she was grateful for that.

So grateful in fact that she offered herself up to watch out for his two sons while he was off fighting some super demon. She didn't care about the details. She just hoped it would be over soon, so she could get back to her somewhat normal life as a vigilante in Central City.

Thinking about Central City made her miss her family even more. It felt like college all over again. She sighed and pulled out her phone.

"Hey, Joe," she said with a big smile on her face. She could hear a heartily laugh on the other end.

" _Hey, kiddo! Iris and I were just cooking grandma Esther's noodle dish,_ " Joe told her excitedly.

"Oh, I love grandma's noodle dish!" She exclaimed with a pout. Joe chuckled.

" _We miss you, kid. It's for sure quieter around here without your science babble and the singing._ " She laughed.

"Doesn't sound like you miss me _too_ much." Joe giggled. "I miss you guys, too." She knew her voice sounded sad and that Joe probably heard it too.

" _When you're coming home? Did he tell you when it's over?"_ Joe sounded concerned. He always did when it came to his two girls. Joe was the best father anyone could ever wish for. He had taken her in when she was eleven and had looked after her and put her even through college since then. She knew what a good father looked like and John Winchester wasn't even in the vicinity of close. Maybe that's why she felt like she needed to protect those two boys even more, because it seemed like there was no one else around to do this job.

"Nope. 'Just keep 'em safe'," she replied trying to mimic John's low voice. "Not that these two yahoos are even doing _anything_ ," she said, rolling her eyes annoyed. Joe laughed.

" _Well, you know what I think of this whole operation and of John Winchester. I've been a detective long enough to see people for who the are_ ," he cautioned her like he always did.

"I know, Joe. But he did save Iris' life and _mine_ , for that matter."

" _And I'll always be grateful for saving my two baby girls, but this agenda is crazy and you still have a life here. You know, a job to get back to?"_

"Well, I got struck by lightning only a few months ago and I was… experiencing side effects. So officially I'm on sabbatical," she joked. Joe giggled.

" _You know where people usually go on sabbatical? An_ island," he deadpanned. She rolled her eyes, even if he couldn't see. She knew somehow he would know anyways.

"Hey, if I'm lucky, they might hunt a ghost on an island soon," she said half-jokingly but actually hoped it would come true. She needed a vacation.

" _Did you just say 'ghost'?_ " he asked incredulously.

"Oh, did I never mention that before?" She couldn't remember if she had actually told him before. She mostly figured he had already known. _When you know about vampires and demons, what's so unbelievable about ghosts anyways_ , she thought.

"Well, my point is – the last thing I can do, is sacrifice a few weeks out of my life and keep an eye on his kids. I mean it's kinda sweet when you think about it," she said and her eyes glanced over to their motel room window. She could hear Joe sigh.

" _Fine. Just be safe out there,_ " he finally surrendered.

"Puh-lease, safe is my middle name yo," she replied jokingly. Joe sighed deeply and hung up. He knew he couldn't tell that girl anything. She had her own damn head.

* * *

 **Chicago, Illinois**

The brothers had driven all night to Chicago to solve yet another mysterious murder. She had way too many _Hardy Boys_ jokes already. She knew if she ever got actual face time with them, they wouldn't kill her because of her powers, but probably because of all those jokes.

Sam and Dean had bought overalls from the security company of the murder apartment and walked casually down the street. She was never far behind them, just far enough so they never spotted her. Not that they ever did. Sometimes she wondered how they even managed to solve a case by themselves.

"All right, Dean. This is the place," Sam said and pointed to an apartment building across the street.

"You know, I've gotta say Dad and me did just fine without these stupid costumes. I feel like a high school drama dork," Dean complained as usual and then started to smile. "What was that play that you did? What was it – _Our Town_. Yeah, you were good, it was cute," Dean teased him. She couldn't help but smile. After a while, their brotherly teasing had grown on her. Plus, it was the only entertainment she could get these days.

"Look, you wanna pull this off or not?" Sam asked annoyed while rolling his eyes back.

"I'm just sayin', these outfits cost hard-earned money, okay?"

"Whose?" Sam asked with a knowing smile.

" _Ours_. You think credit card fraud is easy?" Of course, she had to ignore all the illegal activities, like credit card fraud or the occasional breaking and entering. She _had_ been raised by a cop after all and she even worked at the Central City police station.

When they had left the apartment and came back with nothing, she went in herself to take a look. She had read the newspaper article – a young women named Meredith was literally found shred to pieces in her apartment. No signs of a break-in whatsoever. She had hacked into the police records earlier and found out that Meredith's heart had been missing.

She pulled out the EMF meter, she had built herself after she had seen the boys use one of them to find supernatural beings. Dean had built one out of an old Walkman, while hers was way more advanced. Monster hunting might be up _their_ alley, but engineering technological devices was definitely up hers.

She took a few steps through the living room and it beeped frantically – her money was on a spirit. Although, that murder did seem awfully violent and unnecessarily bloody for a run-of-the-mill spirit. There was also the missing heart. She frowned. She hated it when she couldn't solve a puzzle.

And then there it was – the blood spatter. Why hadn't she seen this earlier? She almost felt stupid for not noticing it immediately.

She took some tape from a desk nearby and walked over to the drops of blood spilled all over the carpet. She used the tape to literally connect the dots. She took a step back and looked at it curiously.

"Well, that's definitely odd," she said out loud even though no one was there. She knelt down to look at the symbol up close. It was a circle with two hooks. It almost resembled the letter _Z_. She hadn't seen it anywhere before and sighed frustrated.

* * *

The boys had decided to check out the bar where Meredith had worked. She was sure Dean had been the first one to volunteer when the word "bar" was mentioned.

When they left their motel room, she snuck in and placed a photo of the blood spatter symbol and her research on the back of it on the table next to Sam's laptop and a stack of library books.

It wasn't the first time she had snuck into their room and left them clues for their cases. A few "accidently" opened books on a particular page about the thing they were hunting here and there usually did the trick.

She caught up with them at the bar and found them sitting at a table. She sat down at another one within ears' reach. She knew she had to be careful not to get seen by them. Once wasn't so bad – but more than that and they would grow suspicious and probably try to kill her. Until now she had managed to avoid it.

Dean had tried to hit on her once, but she was fast enough to trip the waiter before he could even see her face. Now she only hoped he wouldn't remember women's butts. She knew the odds weren't in her favor though.

"So, you talked to the cops?" Sam asked his brother.

"Uh, yeah. I spoke to Amy, a, uh, charming, perky officer of the law." He smirked.

"Yeah? What'd you find out?"

"Well, she's a Sagittarius. She loves tequila, I mean – wow. Oh, and she's got this little tattoo…," Dean described dreamily.

"Dean!" Sam interrupted him annoyed.

"What? Yeah. Uh, nothin' we don't already know," he replied nonchalantly. "Except for one thing they're keepin' out of the papers – Meredith's heart was missing."

"Her heart?!" Sam asked stunned.

"Yeah, her heart," Dean confirmed his little brother.

"So, what do you think did it to her?"

"Well, the landlady said it looked like an animal attack. Maybe it was—werewolf?" Dean suggested.

"No, no werewolf – the lunar cycle's not right. Plus, if it was a creature, it would've left some kind of trace. It's probably a spirit," Sam proposed instead.

"Well, either way I'm getting a beer. Plus, the bartender might know something about Meredith," Dean concluded with a grin and walked over to the pretty bartender.

She could sense Sam's eyes rolling even from over there and laughed.

Sam took out his dad's journal and started looking through it. She wished she had put the photo in there. It drove her crazy not to directly help them. It would make things so much easier.

She glanced over to Dean at the bar as he was happily flirting with the bartender. He took a shot of tequila before walking back over to Sam at the table, seemingly chipper.

"So, I talked to the bartender," he declared as it hadn't been obvious.

"Did you get anything besides her number?" Sam asked sarcastically, still seeming a little annoyed at his brother's behavior.

"Dude, I'm a professional. I'm offended that you would think that." Sam shot him a knowing look. He started chuckling. "Alright, yeah," he confessed winningly and pulled out a napkin with the girl's phone number on it.

Least to say, Sam looked more than a little annoyed by now. "You mind doin' a little bit of thinking with your upstairs brain, Dean?" Sam was staring daggers at him.

She almost spat out her shot of tequila watching them bicker.

"Huh? Look, there's nothing to find out. I mean, Meredith worked here, she waited tables, everyone here was her friend. Everybody said she was normal. She didn't do or say anything weird before she died, so – what about that first victim? Before Meredith?"

"Right, yeah." Sam pulled out the newspaper clipping concerning the first death and handed it to Dean.

His name was Ben Swardstrom. Last month he was found mutilated in his town house. The murder had the same circumstances as Meredith's – the door was locked, the alarm was on. She hadn't found any connection between the two yet. Ben was a banker and Meredith a waitress. They could have met at the bar, sure, but it still wouldn't explain why they got killed by some supernatural thing.

The brothers turned up with the same conclusion – they had nothing.

"So, to recap, the only successful intel we've scored so far is the bartender's phone number," Dean said and smirked.

Suddenly, Sam's look wandered from Dean to somewhere off in the distance. She followed his stare to a table across the room.

She almost spat out her drink again when she recognized the blonde short-haired girl. Meg – that demonic bitch. _That demonic bitch they still didn't know about_ , she realized.

"What? Sam?" Dean called out after his little brother as Sam stood up and walked away from their table right over to Meg. He tipped her on the shoulder and she turned around with a warm fake smile. They even _hugged_.

She couldn't even believe he was touching that thing after what she saw that demon do to that truck driver.

Back in Indiana when Sam had his first run-in with Meg, she had followed the girl. It had been just a bad gut feeling but her gut had never disappointed her before and it didn't that time either. As soon as Sam had left that bus station, so did Meg. Apparently, California hadn't been as important anymore and she hitched a ride with a truck driver instead. Little did she know she had an eye-witness when she slit that man's throat, dripped his blood into a bowl and _talked_ into it. Her black eyes flashing only had confirmed it – demon.

Dean followed Sam shortly and postured himself behind his taller brother.

She moved across the room as well and settled in behind a crowd of people standing close by. She hoped she could still hear the conversation well enough.

They seemed to be chatting about the odds of running into each other again and where Meg originally was from. _Hell_ , she thought darkly.

Dean seemed like he felt a little left out and cleared his throat – he got ignored and they continued to chit-chat as if he wasn't even there.

He tried again and cleared his throat a little louder – this time earning a death stare from Meg.

"Dude, cover your mouth," Meg hissed at Dean. He frowned at her. He was used to being the one getting the girls – surely, not Sam.

"Yeah, um, I'm sorry, Meg. This is, uh – this is my brother, Dean," Sam introduced him finally. Meg looked surprised.

"This is Dean?" She asked dim-wittedly. Dean threw his best cocky smile at her.

"So you've heard of me?" He acted like he was waiting for her to fall to his feet anytime soon by just looking at his charming self.

"Oh, yeah. I've heard of you. Nice – the way you treat your brother like luggage," Meg retorted. Dean's grin faded and turned into a confused look at Sam.

"Sorry?" He asked incredulously.

"Why don't you let him do what he wants to do? Stop dragging him over God's green earth," she told him straight to his face.

"Meg, it's all right," Sam tried to calm her before this conversation got even more out of hand.

They stood there in silence for a while before Dean shook his head and let out a low whistling noise.

"Okay, awkward. I'm gonna get a drink now," Dean finally broke the silence and shot Sam a puzzled look as he walked back over to the bar.

A little later, Sam joined Dean at the bar while Meg was back at talking to some friends. Were they demons too? Or worse – just some innocent bystanders.

"Who the hell was she?" Dean asked Sam annoyed. She hoped this wouldn't bring up the whole fight again.

The circumstances which led to Sam meeting Meg, actually began with the usual Winchester bickering match. However, this particular time, it turned into a huge fight and Dean practically threw Sam out of the car.

Meg, of course, was using their fight as a way in with Sam.

"I don't really know. I only met her once. Meeting up with her again? I don't know, man, it's weird," Sam said, echoing her thoughts exactly. She knew why she always avoided being seen more than once. People just didn't accidently run into each other across countries. Especially not in their line of business.

"And what was she saying? I treat you like luggage? What, were you bitchin' about me to some chick?" She crossed her fingers tightly and prayed this wouldn't turn into another fight. Being at two places at once had been way too complicated the last time. Not to mention all the calories she had burnt that day and all the burritos she had to eat to make up for it.

"Look, I'm sorry, Dean. It was when we had that huge fight when I was in that bus stop in Indiana. But that's not important, just listen…," Sam tried to explain to his older brother.

"Well, is there any truth to what she's saying? I mean, am I keeping you against your will, Sam?" Dean asked him, carrying a lot of anger in his voice.

"No, of course not. Now, would you listen?" Sam tried to get his brother's attention.

"What?", Dean snorted at him. His brows were already bending. His face always looked like this, when Dean was upset about something, but clearly was too "man" about it to actually talk about his feelings.

"I think there's something strange going on here, Dean," Sam told him a little worriedly.

"Yeah, tell me about it. She wasn't even that into me."

"No, man, I mean like _our_ kind of strange. Like, maybe even a lead," Sam added suggestively.

She already had suspected Meg behind the two murders. It was just too odd running into her again at a bar where the waitress was killed by something really evil.

"Why do you say that?" Dean asked him, not too sure what to think of his brother's theory quite yet.

"I met Meg weeks ago, literally on the side of the road. And now, I run into her in some random Chicago bar? I mean, the same bar where a waitress was slaughtered by something supernatural? You don't think that's a little weird?"

 _Yes, thank you, Sam_ , she thought somehow proud. She always knew he was the smarter one of the two.

"I don't know, random coincidence. It happens," Dean said. She rolled her eyes so hard in the distance, it felt like they were going to pop out any second.

"Yeah, it happens, but not to _us_. Look, I could be wrong, I'm just sayin' that there's something about this girl that I can't quite put my finger on," Sam explained and she already knew what was coming next. Dean smirked at him.

"Well, I bet you'd like to. I mean, maybe she's not a suspect, maybe you've got a thing for her, huh?" Sam rolled his eyes and laughed. "Maybe you're thinkin' a little too much with your upstairs brain, huh?" Dean said mockingly and pointed to Sam's head.

"Do me a favor – check and see if there's really a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts," Sam said in a serious tone again.

"What are you gonna do?" Dean asked and looked up at him.

"I'm gonna watch Meg," Sam declared.

"Yeah, you are," Dean said laughingly.

"I just wanna see what's what. Better safe than sorry," he explained.

"All right, you little pervert," Dean teased him as Sam shot him an annoyed glare.

"Dude." Dean grinned at him satisfied.

"I'm goin', I'm goin'," Dean said and started heading for the door to get back to the motel to do some research. Hopefully he would find her note then.

* * *

She had followed Sam to Meg's apartment. He was staying in the Impala to keep an eye on her.

When she determined he was somewhat safe, she went back to her motel room and pulled out her laptop. She sat down at her bed, legs crossed, and started to open various programs and madly typed in codes at almost super speed, her finger tips were hitting the keyboard so hard.

She placed the laptop next to her on the bed and closed her eyes. Now she just had to wait.

* * *

She must have fallen asleep as she woke up a few hours later to her laptop beeping.

Her alert had gone off – Dean was making a call to Sam.

She occasionally hacked them – it made her life just so much easier. It was hard always being close enough to eavesdrop and this was a good way to know what they were up to.

* * *

Dean walked into the motel room, grabbed a beer from the mini fridge and sat down at the little table that was full with library books, police records and newspaper articles. He opened Sam's laptop and started doing his research on his brother's new girlfriend. _Paranoid little freak_ , he thought to himself and shook his head.

When he was done and didn't come up with anything weird about this Meg girl, he leaned back in his chair and took another sip of his beer. He looked at the table with all their useless research. There was something different though.

His look hardened on a photo of a weird symbol next to Sam's laptop. He grabbed it and inspected it more closely.

"Huh, weird," he said out loud and turned the photo around to find some words scribbled at the back of it.

 _Zoroastrian. Very, very old school. Like 2,000 years BC old. Sigil for Daeva._

 _Daeva = demon of darkness_

 _Savage, nasty attitudes. Think demonic pit bulls._

 _Have to be summoned_

 _Who ?_

 _Do research. Can't do everything._

"What the hell?" He frowned. _That was so typical for Sam_ , he thought. Annoyed, he pulled out his phone and waited for his little brother to pick up. He had some explaining to do.

" _Hey,_ " Sam finally answered.

"Let me guess. You're lurkin' outside that poor girl's apartment, aren't you?" Dean asked with a knowing smirk.

" _No_ ," Sam lied. Dean waited patiently for another response. " _Yes_." And then smiled winningly.

"You've got a funny way of showin' your affection," he teased his brother.

" _Did you find anything on her or what?_ "

"Sorry, man, she checks out. There is a Meg Masters in the Andover phonebook. I even pulled up her high school photo." He looked at the website again. "Now, look, why don't you go knock on her door and, uh, invite her to a poetry reading, or whatever it is you do, huh?" He suggested, hoping it would finally get his brother laid. He knew Sam needed a few nights of happiness – hell, even a few hours would be enough – after Jessica's death.

" _What about the murder? Any luck?_ " Sam asked, ignoring his older brother's antics.

"Yeah, thanks for the note and the symbol, by the way," Dean retorted annoyed.

" _What note?_ " Sam asked puzzled.

"You know...the photo with the connected blood spatter...with the symbol. And your research scribbled on the back with the passive-aggressive tone…"

" _Dean! What the hell are you talking about? I didn't leave you a note and I've never seen that photo before in my life_ ," he replied honestly at this new revelation.

"If it wasn't you – what, do we have a freaking ghost now or what, c'mon!" Dean looked around the room just to make sure there wasn't an actual ghost here.

" _Just calm down. I'll be there soon, okay?_ " Sam promised, clearly carrying a smile on his face at Dean's obvious distress.

"Fine. Anyways, I did some research, someone really knows their stuff. I think we've got a major player in town. Now, why don't you go give that girl a private strip-o-gram?" Dean teased him.

" _Bite me_ ," Sam responded.

"No, bite _her_. Don't leave teeth marks, though…" Sam hung up on him. "Sam? Are you…?"

* * *

Sam came back to their motel room. He seemed flustered. Dean got up from his bed and walked towards him.

"Dude, I gotta talk to you," they said simultaneously, then looking surprised at each other.

They sat down at the bed and Sam told Dean what he had seen, spying on Meg.

After their call, Meg had left the apartment and Sam followed her to an abandoned warehouse. He hid out in the elevator shaft as he watched Meg kneeling at an altar and talking into a bowl.

"So, hot little Meg is summoning the Daeva?" Dean asked him after he had finished telling his story.

"Looks like she was using that black altar to control the thing," Sam confirmed.

"So, Sammy's got a thing for the bad girl." Dean chuckled as Sam rolled his eyes at him. "And what's the deal with that bowl again?"

"She was talking into it. The way witches used to into crystal balls or animal entrails. She was communicating with someone," he explained.

"With who? With the Daeva?"

"No, you said those things were savages. No, this was someone different. Someone who's giving her orders. Someone who's comin' to that warehouse." Dean thought for a moment and glanced at some files on the table. He sat down and started digging through them.

"Holy crap," he exclaimed as if he had just said " _Eureka!_ "

"What?"

"What I was gonna tell you earlier – I pulled a favor with my, uh friend, Amy, over at the police department. The complete records of the two victims – we missed something the first time." Sam walked over to take a look at the files. "The first victim, the old man – he spent his whole life in Chicago, but he wasn't born here. Look where he was born." Dean pointed his finger at the location written down in the files.

"Lawrence, Kansas," Sam read out loud and looked at him stunned.

"Mhm, Meredith, second victim – turns out she was adopted. And guess where she's from. Lawrence, Kansas." Sam sat down slowly on the bed, clearly shocked.

"Holy crap," Sam said, repeating Dean's initial thoughts. "I mean, it is where the demon killed Mom. That's where everything started. So, you think Meg's tied up with the demon?" He asked his older brother, hoping they would finally get a chance to revenge their mother's and his girlfriend's deaths.

"I think it's a definite possibility," Dean confirmed him. He was clearly worried, especially about Sam. He had been hell bent on killing this demon ever since Jessica. Sometimes Dean wasn't even sure Sam wouldn't sacrifice himself in order to kill this thing.

"But I don't understand. What's the significance of Lawrence? And how do these Daeva things fit in?" Sam asked confused, thinking of all the ways this could be connected to them.

"Beats me. But I say we trash that black altar, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation," Dean suggested, ready to jump into danger whenever.

"No, we can't. We shouldn't tip her off. We've gotta stake out that warehouse. We've gotta see who, or what, is showin' up to meet her," Sam advised instead, being more reasonable than his brother.

"I'll tell you one thing. I don't think we should do this alone," Dean said thoughtfully, glancing over to his brother. They knew they needed their father right about now.

* * *

She was wearing sweatpants, a hoodie and her reading glasses. She had put her hair up into a messy bun and had ordered Chinese food earlier, stacking up box after box on her nightstand.

She was wearing headphones and had listened to the brothers' conversation as she had successfully hacked into the speakers and microphone of Sam's laptop.

She agreed with the boys – this was a job for John. Unfortunately, she had already tried him a million times and he didn't even bother to send a carrier pigeon.

She was out of ideas. Could she take on a demon? She figured she had to, as their was no other obvious alternative in sight. The brothers still didn't know Meg was a demon and were about to walk into an evident trap.

She still was mad at herself for not noticing this herself – the birth place of both victims that happen to coincide with the boys'. When she heard it ringing through her headphones, her body had immediately tensed, sensing a threat.

She had to warn them somehow.

* * *

Dean had just left a voicemail on their father's phone when Sam entered their motel room, carrying a duffle bag full of weapons. They always kept it in the trunk of the Impala.

"Jesus, what'd you get?" Dean gestured to the bags in Sam's hand. Sam chuckled.

"I ransacked that trunk. Holy water, every weapon that I could think of, exorcism rituals from about a half dozen religions. I'm not sure what to expect, so I guess we should just expect everything," Sam said and Dean nodded in agreement.

"Big night," Dean noted after a short silence. They had started to load their guns.

"Yeah. You nervous?" Sam asked, glancing over at his brother. Dean's face was stern. His brother never tended to give away _too_ much, no matter what apparent danger they were facing. He was always the older brother, looking out for his younger sibling.

"No. Why, are you?"

"No. No way," Sam sad. He had been waiting for this for a long time. He was ready. "God, could you imagine if we actually found that damn thing? That demon?" Dean looked at him for a moment.

He didn't know what they would be walking into tonight, which meant he had no way of knowing on how to protect Sam and keep him safe, like he had promised his father. It had been a direct order and practically his only job ever since he carried his little brother out of their burning childhood home twenty-two years ago.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, all right?" Dean stated calmly.

"I know. I'm just sayin', what if we did? What if this whole thing was over tonight? Man, I'd sleep for a month. Go back to school – be a person again," Sam said casually. Dean shot him a confused look.

"You wanna go back to school?" Dean asked, slightly aggravated now. He knew they were about to start a bickering match again, but he just couldn't believe his little brother. How could he leave after knowing what was out there? Then again, Sam had left before and gone to Stanford. He shouldn't be this surprised about Sam's future plans.

"Yeah, once we're done huntin' the thing," Sam answered, still not even having a clue yet that Dean would throw a fit any second now.

"Huh," he stated simply, his muscles clearly tensing like he was ready for a fight.

"Why, is there somethin' wrong with that?" Sam asked innocently. Sometimes he was just too naïve for his own good.

"No. No, it's, uh, great. Good for you," Dean replied sarcastically.

"I mean, what are you gonna do when it's all over?" Sam continued to question his brother. Why couldn't his little brother open his eyes for once?

"It's never gonna be over. There's gonna be others. There's always gonna be somethin' to hunt," Dean told him in his calmest voice possible, trying to hide his frustrations.

"But there's got to be somethin' that you want for yourself…" He cut Sam off before he could say more.

"Yeah, I don't want you to leave the second this thing's over, Sam." Dean looked him dead in the eye. Almost as if he were desperate for his little brother to stay with him. As if he couldn't do it without Sam's help. He felt like a little lost boy.

"Dude, what's your problem?" Sam asked, still being oblivious to his brother's pain. Dean remained silent for a moment, leaning against the dresser, trying not to look at Sam.

"Why do you think I drag you everywhere? Huh? I mean, why do you think I came and got you at Stanford in the first place?" He confessed, turning around to look at his little brother again.

"'Cause Dad was in trouble. 'Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed Mom," Sam replied, still not grasping what Dean wanted so badly.

"Yes, that, but it's more than that, man. You and me and Dad – I mean, I want us….I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again," he said, almost pleading with Sam. He never let his vulnerability show. It made him feel weak and weakness equaled being an easy target in their world.

"Dean, we are a family. I'd do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before," Sam explained calmly. Deep down, even Dean knew he was right. But it was the only hope – the light at the end of the tunnel – that had kept him going all these years.

"Could be," Dean argued sadly. He held on to it for so long, he wouldn't stop now either. Sam took a deep breath. He didn't want to hurt Dean and seeing him like this, didn't resemble the strong older brother he grew up with.

"I don't want them to be. I'm not gonna live this life forever. Dean, when this is all over, you're gonna have to let me go my own way," Sam told him and they shared a long look.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a red streak flashed into their motel room. It almost looked like lightning and for a moment, Sam wasn't sure if he had spotted an actual person in the midst of all this.

Papers were flying through the room as the boys frantically tried to follow the red lightning. It was way too fast to catch with normal human capacities.

The chaotic swirling through their room stopped abruptly and the door was slammed closed again.

They looked at each other in confusion.

"What the hell?! Do we have an actual ghost now?!" Dean yelled, almost freaking out and walking over to the door to look outside again.

"Yeah, well I think Casper, the friendly ghost, wanted to warn us," Sam said, looking at the wall of their motel room. Dean turned around and followed Sam's gaze.

There was a picture of Meg, stuck to the wall with one of their hunting knives. The word _Demon_ was scribbled across it.

"Huh," Dean murmured as he took a closer look. "At least, now we know what we're dealing with," he said, turning to Sam, who nodded.

"Let's go."

* * *

The boys entered the warehouse and climbed the elevator shaft, hiding out at the gate and watching Meg as she stood in front of an altar and spoke in an ancient language.

She had been hot on their heels ever since they had left the motel and had followed them to the warehouse. She had hidden herself well behind a wall at the far end of the room. She could see the boys leaving the elevator gate and sneaking up behind some crates. She rolled her eyes. If she could see them, she was sure Meg could as well.

"Guys, hiding's a little bit childish, don't you think?" Meg suddenly said and turned around to face them. "Why don't you come out?"

Sam and Dean shared a look before walking out of their hiding space.

"Sam, I have to say, this puts a real crimp in our relationship," Meg told him with a pout.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sam mumbled.

"So, where's your little Daeva friend?" Dean asked her.

"Around. You know, that shotgun's not gonna do much good," Meg replied with a cocky smile.

"Oh, don't worry, sweetheart. The shotgun's not for the demon," Dean countered with a smirk.

"So, who is it, Meg? Who's coming? Who are you waiting for?" Sam questioned her.

"Hey, Sam? Don't take this the wrong way, but your girlfriend...is a _bitch_ ," Dean said to his brother, facing Meg and staring her dead in the eye.

"This, the whole thing, was a trap. Running into you at the bar, following you here, hearin' what you had to say. It was all a set-up, wasn't it?" Sam finally realized. Meg only confirmed his theory by letting out a laugh. "And that the victims were from Lawrence?" He continued to ask.

"It doesn't mean anything. It was just to draw you in, that's all," Meg verified them.

"You killed those two people for nothin'," Sam told her. His voice clearly carrying some anger now.

"Baby, I've killed a lot more for a lot less," Meg sad simply, not even trying to show any kind of remorse.

"You trapped us. Good for you. It's Miller time," Dean said and smiled. "But why don't you kill us already?"

"Not very quick on the uptake, are we?" She answered, stepping a little closer. "This trap isn't for you," she informed them with a small smirk on her face.

Dean looked as confused as ever when ultimately, Sam seemed to realize it.

"Dad. It's a trap for Dad," he said and looked at his brother, who looked back at a grinning Meg.

"Oh, sweetheart – you're dumber than you look. 'Cause even if Dad was in town, which he is not, he wouldn't walk into something like this. He's too good," Dean told her and that much was true.

 _He always had a weak spot though_ , she thought. And she knew exactly what that was and she was sure Meg and every other demon, John had been hunting, knew it too.

"He is pretty good. I'll give you that. But you see, he has one weakness," she confided in them, smiling all the way.

"What's that?" Dean asked her. He was oblivious to the fact that his father could even remotely care about him.

" _You_. He lets his guard down around his boys, lets his emotions cloud his judgment. I happen to know he is in town. And he'll come and try to save you. And then the Daevas will kill everybody – nice and slow and messy," Meg explained almost seductively, looking at the boys intensely.

"Well, I've got news for ya. It's gonna take a lot more than some….shadow to kill him," Dean replied cockily. No one would be able to kill his father _that_ easy.

"Oh, the Daevas are in the room here – they're invisible. Their shadows are just the only part you can see," Meg informed them.

 _Good to know_ , she thought, eavesdropping from behind the wall. She needed a plan. She still had no clue on how to stop them _or_ Meg.

"Why you doin' this, Meg? What kind of deal you got worked out here, huh? And with who?" Sam asked her, seemingly desperate for answers.

"I'm doing this for the same reasons you do what you do – loyalty. Love. Like the love you had for Mommy – and Jess," Meg said.

"Go to hell," Sam mumbled angrily.

"Fine. You first," Meg answered with a twisted grin.

"Shit," she muttered from behind her hiding space as she saw a shadow demon beginning to form on the wall.

It knocked Sam to the ground immediately. It was fast – but not fast enough for her eyes. But she still had no clue on how to defeat this thing.

The shadow reappeared. This time throwing Dean almost across the whole room as he landed into some crates.

It started to attack Sam again, leaving a claw-like mark on his cheek.

She needed to do something – _now_.

She sped into the room and threw Meg against the wall with a punch. But she got up again, stretching her neck like she was getting ready for the next round.

"Looks like your pet freak came to your rescue." Meg grinned at her and then looked over to the boys, scattered on each side of the room. "Good, I've been wanting to get rid of you ever since Indiana," she said and looked back at the masked girl.

The Daevas started coming to life again, their long dark shadows slowly crawling up the walls. She didn't even see it when she suddenly felt a force slam her across the room. She hit her head on a pipe and she definitely could feel a few broken rips. But she had to get up again.

 _They feed off the darkness_ , she remembered. So what if she created enough light by running fast enough. At least, they couldn't touch her then.

She ran as fast as she could, circling the room. She could see the shadows backing away from the walls. She came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the room as soon as the shadows had disappeared again. She knew it wouldn't be for long.

 _What now_ , she thought to herself. She felt helpless. How was she supposed to defeat those things and then there was still Meg.

Meg walked toward her, her eyes fierce and ready to attack. She swallowed hard and slightly glanced over to Dean.

"Any ideas on how to kill those things – now would be a good time," she whispered to him, vibrating her voice, even though she wasn't sure keeping her identity a secret was still of necessity. But it felt weird talking straight to his face. They've never done that before, she realized. He looked at her confused as he didn't even know which side she was on. _Fair enough, but not the right time_ , she thought.

" _Now_ ," she hissed at him with closed teeth. She turned to look at him straight. He hesitantly shrugged his shoulders and Dean thought he could see a flicker of helplessness in the girl's posture before she gathered herself again.

"Destroy the altar," Sam suddenly told her. She turned around to see his face, only to see his eyes widening. She was sure Meg was coming to attack her.

She spun around, catching Meg's arm, holding a knife in her hand, and twisted her arm until the demon let it drop to the floor. She kneed Meg in the head and kicked her across the room. Meg got back on her feet, grinning widely at her. She was bleeding from her lower lip and licked it slowly with her tongue.

"You know, maybe next time I should possess your body. Those powers might come in handy," she said with a lingering smile.

"Can't blame you," she said with a cocky smile, looking herself up and down. "Gotta catch me first though, bitch."

She sped towards Meg and shoved her to the ground. Meg kicked her feet, knocking her down, too. She managed to get up again and ran to the middle of the room. She needed to get Meg away from the altar.

"Come on Wile E., catch the Road Runner," she teased Meg. Meg smiled, accepting her challenge and running toward her again. Before Meg could grab her, she sped to the altar, leaving Meg only grasping thin air. Meg turned around to see the girl standing by the altar, her hand resting coolly on the edge. She looked back at the demon with a smile before she tipped over the table, destroying it.

"Whoopsie," she said mockingly to Meg. Meg's eye widened as the Daevas started climbing the walls again. The shadow demon grabbed Meg, dragging her across the floor before it threw her out of the window. Then it vanished again.

She heard the crash when the body hit the street. It sounded like a million bones had just shattered. Could a demon die from this? She walked over to the window to see for herself. As she looked down she could see Meg's body, or what was left of it, sprawled on the sidewalk, seemingly dead.

Suddenly, she could hear a gun clacking. She frowned at the noise and turned around to see her suspicions confirmed. Dean was standing a few feet away from her, clearly feeling better and pointing his gun at her.

She glared at him and she could see him growing unsure of what he was about to do. Still, there was determination in his eyes to kill her.

"Dude, are you crazy?!" Sam said, finally getting up and walking over to his brother. He looked at Dean straight. "She just saved our asses and you wanna kill her?" He asked incredulously. Dean just looked at him puzzled., but lowered his gun a little.

She took it as her cue to leave and got out of the warehouse as soon as possible before they changed their minds.

* * *

Sam and Dean walked back to their motel room. Dean was complaining the whole way about how he should've just taken the shot. Even though the girl had saved them, she wasn't human and she needed to be dealt with. He wouldn't let her get away a second time.

"Did you see her face?" He asked his brother for the thousandth time, looking for answers to this thing.

"No, Dean, I told you – she was more of a blur than anything else. Just let it go, alright?" Sam pled with him now. Dean made a face at him, but nodded.

He unlocked the door to their room. Walking in, he noticed the outline of a figure standing in the middle of the room waiting for them.

"Hey!" He shouted as Sam turned on the light. He couldn't believe his eyes – he was here. "Dad?" He asked stunned. Sam seemed to be just as shocked to see their father again.

"Hey, boys," John said with smile. Dean immediately walked over to his father, grabbing him in a long emotional hug. Sam stood behind and watched them with a little sadness in his eyes. "Hi, Sam," John finally said, pulling apart from Dean and looking over to his youngest son.

"Hey, Dad," Sam said, his voice softer than usual.

"Dad, it was a trap. I didn't know, I'm sorry," Dean apologized to him. It was stupid of him to call his father. He should've known better than to fall for a trap. His father had taught them better.

"It's all right. I thought it might've been," John said, looking at his boys with a warm smile.

"Were you there?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive. She was the bad guy, right?" He looked at them both questioningly.

"Yes, sir," they replied at the same time.

"Good. Well, it doesn't surprise me. It's tried to stop me before," John revealed to his boys.

"The demon has?" Sam asked, looking at his father.

"It knows I'm close. It knows I'm gonna kill it. Not just exorcise it or send it back to hell – actually kill it," he explained to his children.

"How?" Dean asked confused.

"I'm workin' on that." John smiled.

"Let us come with you. We'll help," Sam said, earning a warning look from his older brother.

"No, Sam. Not yet. Just try to understand. This demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don't want you caught in a crossfire. I don't want you hurt," John told them.

"Dad, you don't have to worry about us," Sam stated firmly.

"Of course I do. I'm your father." He paused to take a breath. "Listen, Sammy, last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight," John said, eyeing his son.

"Yes, sir." Sam nodded.

"It's good to see you again. It's been a long time," he told his son, tears filling his eyes.

"Too long," Sam agreed. He didn't want to fight with his father anymore and he could tell all the fighting was taking a toll on his older brother. John walked over to him and pulled him into an long overdue embrace. Sam could feel the tears coming, too, in his own eyes and even Dean seemed to be an emotional wreck right at this moment.

It didn't last long though. As soon as they pulled apart, a shadow demon appeared in the motel room and attacked John, throwing him into some cupboards.

"No!" Dean yelled desperately but it was too late.

* * *

She had decided to walk home. Sometimes she liked moving at a slower pace, especially when she had to think. And she had a lot to think about.

Was her mission over, now that they knew they had a follower? Or was she supposed to keep going? How was she supposed to protect them if they didn't let her? And more importantly – how was she going to avoid getting shot again? She frowned.

She had almost reached the motel room. If the demon had been right and John _was_ in fact in town, then she was almost sure he would stop by to visit his boys. And she had the perfect opportunity to ask him what she was supposed to do next.

Sure enough, she saw John's truck parked in an alley close to the motel. All of a sudden, she noticed a figure walking away from the motel. Not just any figure – _Meg_. But before she could snatch the demon bitch, she heard loud noises coming from the motel. And then she heard someone yell.

She burst into their room faster than she had ever done before. She stopped for a nanosecond and looked around – the Daevas were back and attacking the three of them before one of them got her too and slammed her against the wall. She crumbled to the floor. She got up again and ran in circles through the room, keeping the shadows at bay and away from the boys.

She noticed the duffle bag on the ground and grabbed it. She dug through the bag and grabbed a few flares.

"Close your eyes!" She yelled at the three of them before she lit up the flares. The shadow demons immediately disappeared. They still needed to get out of the room though before they all suffocated, as the smoke from the flares made it hard to breathe and burned in their lungs. The smoke also weakened her vision, but she managed to grab all three of them before speeding them outside into the alley.

Sam was supporting his father. John had been pretty badly injured by the demons. They almost had him ripped into shreds. The boys didn't look much better, though and even she had a few scratches and broken bones.

She backed away a few steps from them, letting them go. Her hands rested on her thighs for a moment as she tried to catch her breath again. She had looked at the floor for what only could've been a second before she heard a gun clack again.

"Dean, don't shoot!" She could hear John yell, but it was too late.

She saw the bullet race at her in slow motion, as her eyes adjusted to the speeding object. She could feel her body tense, energy rushing through her veins until she felt it flicker in her eyes. She reached out her arm and caught the bullet like it was nothing, her environment returning to its normal speed.

She frowned at her shooter angrily. " _Really_ , douchebag?!" She held up the bullet in her hand and threw it at Dean's feet. "Try a 'thank you' next time!" She told him and crossed her arms stubbornly.

Dean stared at her in disbelief, his jaw dropping. Who did this chick think she is, talking to him like that? He opened his mouth to start a counterargument, but was interrupted by his father.

"Guys, stop," John intervened. He walked towards Dean, placing a hand on his shoulder until Dean supported him.

"What?! Wait, why?" Dean asked confused, looking at his father. "She's not human! We kill her!" He argued. Was he the only one who grasped the job of killing monsters in this family now?

"She's a family friend," John explained almost breathlessly.

She could see by John's look on his face that he probably would have killed her back then if he hadn't deemed her useful.

"A family friend?" Dean repeated John's words doubtingly.

"Yes," John let out, still trying to catch his breath. "I told her to keep an eye on you and your brother…protect you," he stumbled out.

" _You_ told her to help us?" He asked his father in disbelief. He never questioned that man's orders, but he could damn well protect himself and his little brother without the help of some supernatural speed junkie. "We don't need her help!"

"Dean…," his father tried to explain, but stopped. There was nothing more he could say to his son without giving away too much. He looked over at the girl in the dark red suit, giving her an apologetic nod.

She pulled her hoodie over her head and rolled her eyes. "Well, that was fun," she muffled. She put two fingers to her lips and whistled. A motorcycle raced around the corner and came to a screeching halt right at her feet. She smiled at the driver as he handed her a helmet. She took one last glance at the three of them before pulling the helmet over her head and jumping onto the bike. Her arms reaching around the guy's waist and grabbing the front of his leather jacket. "I'm ready," she whispered into his ear and he pulled the throttle, speeding away and leaving the Winchesters behind.

* * *

"All right, come on. We don't have much time. We don't know when they'll be back," Sam said trying to avoid an impending fight between his Dad and Dean, for a change. He came to his Dad's side, trying to support him again before walking his father over to the Impala.

"Wait, wait, wait! Sam, wait," Dean interrupted his doings and walked up to him, holding out a flat hand. "Dad, you can't come with us," he said, looking at his father with pain.

"What? What are you talkin' about?" Sam asked confused.

"You boys – you're beat to hell," John argued, looking his sons up and down. They had cuts and bruises everywhere.

"We'll be all right," Dean tried to assure his father.

"Dean, we should stick together. We'll go after those demons…," Sam argued.

"Sam! Listen to me!" Dean yelled at him, looking at his little brother intensely. "We almost got Dad killed in there. Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop. They're gonna try again. They're gonna use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right. Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He – he's stronger without us around." Dean's eyes looked desperate.

"Dad, no," Sam mumbled, glancing sadly over to his father. He put a hand on John's shoulder. "After everything – after all the time we spent looking for you – please. I gotta be a part of this fight," Sam pled with his father.

"Sammy, this fight is just starting. And we are all gonna have a part to play. For now, you've got to trust me, son." Sam shook his head in disagreement. "Okay, you've gotta let me go," John told them and they stood there in silence for a while, not knowing what else to do or say before Sam patted his father's shoulder once, finally letting him go.

"Be careful, boys." John looked thankfully at his sons. He got into his truck and drove away again, leaving them behind to fend for themselves once more.

They watched their father drive away until the truck's taillights had disappeared into the night. Dean looked over to his brother and gestured to the Impala. "Come on," he said as they got into the car, leaving Chicago in silence.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

So this is the first chapter, whew! What did you guys think?

I didn't use Hayley's name on purpose as the boys still don't know who or what she is. I thought their first face-to-face meeting went as expected :D

To Hayley: Hayley is obviously the Flash and there will be a few episodes where the boys crossover or different characters are in SPN episodes. I gave her the same background story as Barry because I found it'll fit nicely with the Winchesters own backstory. I also plan on using some Flash storylines, but mostly I just want her to be part of the hunting team and help the boys save some people and kick ass ;) Hayley's not going to have the same character as Barry though! She's going to be a little rougher around the edges and playful.

Obviously, it's a little AU because Central City is in their universe but that's the only comic book city existing in this particular universe (so there's no Arrow or Star City etc.), but I still might use occasionally a story line or quote.

The brother's will have more face time with Hayley in the next chapter. They will go to Central City looking for her and it will be an extra chapter to the Supernatural canon (the only one for this season).

I'm also most definitely planning a Dean/Hayley pairing in the future, but I will take my time with it as I do plan on making it, at least until Season 12. Plus, I want it to come naturally and don't force it _too_ much ;)

Thanks to everyone who read this! I'm looking forward to your reviews! :)


	2. Chapter 2: Secret Identities And Such

**2\. Secret Identities And Such (X-Over 1.01)**

They had just driven past Bloomington, Illinois when the sun came back up, saturating the landscape with red and orange colors. Dean glanced over to his little brother sleeping in the passenger's seat. He was still having nightmares, but this time he seemed to be at peace.

Too bad, Dean had to wake him up. He turned up the volume of the radio and sang along to Guns N' Roses' _Sweet Child O' Mine_. Sam startled awake, looking confused at his brother for a second before rolling his eyes back and sighing in annoyance.

"Dude, turn that down, will you?" Sam retorted. "Jerk."

"Bitch," Dean replied as always and grinned.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked his brother as soon as he felt awake enough again. He stretched his long arms over his head as far as the Impala allowed him to. Man, what he would give to sleep on a comfortable bed again that wasn't in the same room as his brother's.

"Motel. Just looking to get far enough away from Chicago as possible," Dean said and looked into the rearview mirror. He couldn't shake the feeling they still weren't entirely safe.

"You found a case yet?" Sam asked his brother.

"Yeah, we're goin' to kill that bitch. I don't care what Dad says," Dean told him determined, a stern look on his face as he tried to focus on the road and not on the look his brother was giving him.

"Dean!" He exclaimed in protest. "Dad specifically told us not to kill her and you never ignore Dad's orders."

"This is different, Sammy. If Dad doesn't see it, we have to see it through," he explained thoroughly.

"What?! Since when?" Sam gave him a puzzled look. He shook his head at Dean.

"So being… _stalked_ by some girl with superpowers, doesn't freak you out?! She's not human, Sam!" How many times did he have to explain this to his little brother, or to his father for that matter.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sam said suggestively with his know-it-all smile.

"What are you talking about? What else could she be?" Dean said, ignoring Sam.

"Well, before I fell asleep, I did some research of my own. Ever read the news the past couple of months?" Dean looked at him. He didn't remember reading anything in particular the last few months besides the usual odd cases they were working. "Does Central City, Missouri ring a bell?" Sam added and Dean thought for a while before he realized he _had_ read something about that city.

"There was this explosion about a year ago," Dean finally said and Sam nodded.

"Right, so get this – that explosion contained all kinds of particles and dark matter and over the last couple of months, there have been reports of people being affected by the explosion. Suddenly gaining powers, like controlling the weather," Sam explained. Dean looked at him confused. He had almost stopped listening when Sam used words like "particles" or "dark matter".

"Controlling the weather? That's insane." Dean shook his head.

"I know." They shared a look. "Well, anyways, police are keeping it under wraps, mostly handling those people themselves. They call them meta-humans," Sam explained further.

"Meta-humans? So you think that chick is one of 'em?" Dean asked, still not happy with the answer.

"Yeah, and I think I know who it is," Sam said with a grin. Dean looked at him with a proud smile and patted him on the shoulder.

"Look at you, Mr. Smarty-Pants. Looks like college worked out for you," Dean teased him and chuckled. Sam rolled his eyes. "So who is it?" He asked, returning to his serious side.

"There is this woman, popping up all over town, running into burning buildings, saving people, stopping bank robberies. She apparently even saved some girl's kitty from a tree," Sam said and pouted jokingly.

"Well, good for her. Still something stinks. She's probably killing people at night," Dean said stubbornly.

"Oh yeah, how? By _running_ over them?" Sam asked amused. Dean shot him a look. "She's even helping the police catch other meta-humans," he added, but he knew it wouldn't make a difference with his brother. He just had to see for himself. "Look, all I'm sayin' is, don't go around shootin' her blindly. For all we know, she's just a girl that wants to help. And besides, she might have some answers for us." Dean glanced over to his brother, biting his lip hard before he finally managed to nod his head in agreement.

"Fine. But I'm telling you as soon as that bitch turns evil, I'm shootin' her!" He promised angrily. Sam just looked at him amused and shook his head. He knew Dean would change his mind eventually.

* * *

 **Central City, Missouri**

Hayley was opening her eyes, stretching every muscle in her body and sighing contently. A smile crossed her face as she looked around her bedroom. It felt good to finally be able to sleep in her own bed on her _comfy_ mattress.

She sped into the bathroom and back out, fully showered and dressed for the day. She was wearing a black knee-length pencil skirt and a white silk blouse with black pumps. Her dark brown hair was tied up in a messy knot, showing her dark blue streaks of hair underneath it. She put her black-framed glasses on before racing off to CC Jitters, the local coffeehouse, to get her mandatory caffeine intake.

Standing in line at Jitters, she suddenly noticed the time. She was running late again – on her first day back at work.

* * *

Sam and Dean arrived at a crime scene. They both were wearing suits and ties, pretending to be FBI agents this time. Dean was still sweating it a little. After all, he – or better someone who looked like him – was still wanted for murder since that shapeshifter in St. Louis.

The brothers figured their best chance was to just ask the cops about the _Flash_ , as they tended to call her. They were sure, sooner or later, she would appear.

They walked over to a group of police officers, talking about the case.

"Second robbery this week," a white young cop said, shaking his head. He had blonde short hair and blue eyes and looked a little too neat for a cop.

"The teller I.D.'d Clyde Mardon as the shooter," a black older cop stated, walking with the other one toward the crime scene.

"What? Oh, jeez, the Mardon Brothers are back?" He asked his partner in annoyance.

"What do we got?" Another cop walked over. He was young, but way better dressed than the others. _Captain_ , Dean guessed.

"Perps took the bank, shot out the cameras, and as a chaser, killed the security guard over there. I've got unis kicking in doors of known Mardon Brothers associates," the older cop explained to the Captain and gestured behind him at the bank.

"CSI been over it?" The Captain asked sternly.

"Uh, no," the older cop said, suddenly seeming flustered as he tried to come up with something.

"Where's Allen?" The Captain asked now angrier, looking around.

Suddenly a woman ran up behind him, carrying her shoes in her hand and running barefoot along the sidewalk before she stopped and put them back on, almost falling over. She then tried to walk over to the group of cops as gracefully as possible.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" she said multiple times as she hopped through the crowd of curious observers. "Sorry for being late…again, Captain Singh." She smiled apologetically at him. He looked unimpressed.

"What was it this time, Dr. Allen?" He looked at her unsympathetically. "Did you forget to set your alarm clock?" She opened her mouth to say something but he continued talking. "Before you answer, I should remind you the excuse you gave last time was car trouble. Want to know why that one was particularly memorable?" He looked her dead in the eye, waiting for her answer. She let her shoulders fold guiltily. She looked up at him with clear blue puppy dog eyes.

"I…don't own a car?" She said slowly, shrugging her shoulders and biting her lower lip with a small smile. Singh was ready to give her the usual yelling lecture. She heard it once or twice a day – so it wasn't a big deal to her. She still didn't particularly enjoy it, though.

"She was running an errand for me," the older cop jumped in. He turned around to face the girl, looking her deeply into her eyes. "Hayley, did you get me what I asked for?" He was obviously lying to try and save her ass, waiting for her to catch on to his scheme.

"Yeah, yeah, I did," she mumbled, her hands frisking her body up and down, looking for something in her pockets before realizing her skirt didn't even have any pockets to rummage through. "I have it right…" Her hands reached down to her laptop bag and she grabbed the first thing she could find. "…here."

She handed the opened chocolate bar to the older cop with an embarrassing look in her eyes. He grabbed it from her wordlessly, his face seemingly displeased at what she came up with.

"I had a few bites of it," she added remorsefully. He looked at her with the same stern expression as before. "I'm just gonna go check out the crime scene now," she said and bounced away from them.

"Uh, excuse me, sir. FBI agents Hetfield and Mustaine," Dean introduced them, walking over to the black officer, showing him their badges.

"FBI, huh?" He asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes and taking a step forward to look closer at their badges.

* * *

 _I'll be damned_ , Joe thought. Did those boys think they could fool him with false badges? He had seen a thousand of them in his carrier and they never looked real. How people actually fell for it was beyond him.

The last person that had tried that with him had been John Winchester. And suddenly, it dawned on him. Those two fools standing before him were probably his sons looking for _his_ daughter. He knew they would come eventually. He just didn't know it would be today.

"And what is the FBI doing at a robbery exactly?" Joe asked them. They shared a look with each other.

"We're not exactly here for the robbery, Officer…?" The shorter one answered, reaching out his hand.

"West. And it's Detective, son," Joe replied, putting on his "scary face" as his daughters had always called it. It had worked on them and it sure seemed to work on those boys – the shorter one already getting weak and starting to fold a little.

"Of course, _Detective_ ," he corrected himself, gathering his posture again. "We heard your city was being terrorized by, what do you call them? Meta-humans? Anyways, HQ wanted us to check it out, so here we are. We would appreciate any information you could give us and as soon as everything's cleared up, we'll be out of your hair in no time," Agent Pretty Boy promised with a nervous laugh.

"That information is classified, so you have to excuse me if I don't just hand it to you," Joe replied firmly.

"No, of course not, sir," the tall one said, looking nervously at him. Joe looked him up and down.

"Go over to the Captain. He's gonna check in with your supervisor. Until then, don't bother me," Joe told them off and left them standing there, mouths wide open before they walked over towards the Captain.

Joe quickly moved over to his daughter, who had been watching unnoticeably from the side. As soon as she had seen them at the crime scene, she wanted to turn around. She couldn't believe they actually located her back to Central City. Then again, a woman with super speed in a red suit is not that common and she _was_ featured a lot in the news. It didn't take a genius to connect the dots from there.

Joe grabbed her arm and pulled her a little to the side. He looked her into her eyes. "Are those two fake FBI agents over there by any chance John Winchester's kids?" He asked her.

She sighed and rolled her eyes back. "Yeah," she said simply and glanced over to them.

"Well, I think they're looking for you."

"Yeah, I gathered," Hayley replied. Joe looked at her with worry.

"They here to hurt you?" He asked her, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her closer to get a better look at her eyes. He could tell if one of his daughters was hiding something by just looking at them long enough. But Hayley shook her head honestly. "Okay," he said, releasing her again. "Wanna have some fun with them then?" He grinned cheekily at his adoptive daughter.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked, grinning at him widely as well.

* * *

As soon as they had Captain Singh convinced that they were "authorized" to have CCPD's classified detail on meta-humans, he sent them over to the CSI, the young brunette woman from before. She was supposedly the leading expert on meta-humans.

The woman was looking profusely at the crime scene before her. Her black glasses balancing on her nose, and strands of blue hair falling out of her bun. She seemed jumbled, but Dean had a feeling she was just being her usual self. The clumsy damsel in distress, which was exactly his type – not that he really had a specific one.

He looked her up and down, lingering maybe a little too long on her butt. But then again, her black skirt _was_ pretty tight. It wasn't his fault – he was practically forced to inspect it closer. Sam cleared his throat at his brother. Dean looked up at Sam, shrugging his shoulders with a smirk. Sam rolled his eyes.

The woman was suddenly lying down on the sidewalk. Chest flat on the ground and holding her head sideways to look at something more closely.

Dean's head went sideways as well, making himself a little smaller. Now if he could bend a little more to the right, he could look under her…Sam hit his arm and Dean jumped straight back up.

"Dude!" Sam scolded him, but Dean could hardly hide his grin.

"Getaway car's a Mustang Shelby GT500," she suddenly said. She got on her feet again, dusting of her skirt and looking more closely at the tire tracks before her. She looked like she was measuring the tracks with her bare eyes, only using her hands as help as she gestured widely around the tracks from every possible angle. "Shelby's have a rear super-wide tire specific to that model. 12 inches with an asymmetrical tread," she concluded, not looking up and keeping her eyes on the job before her.

Dean nodded approvingly. "Good job," he muttered, seemingly impressed with the young woman's knowledge about cars.

"I know, thank you," she replied absentmindedly. "And there's something else," she added almost with excitement. She walked over to the group of police officers that had gathered around to watch her curiously. "Thanks," she told the detective whose pen she had just snatched from his chest pocket before returning to the scene. "Fecal excrement. Animal, I'd guess," she explained, picking up some of the poop with the borrowed pen before bagging it.

"My dad gave me that pen...before he died," the detective, whose pen she had misused, told her. He sure was pissed off about it.

She let her head fall down and sighed deeply. "Sorry," she said as if it were second nature to her.

Detective West walked over to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her gently to the side.

"Your ability to multi-task is truly remarkable. The way you can embarrass me, the Captain, and yourself all at the same time. You know everyone you work with thinks you're a weirdo? Which means they think _I_ raised you to be a weirdo and I don't dig that," he told her in a scolding tone. She bit her lip.

"Joe, I'm sorry," she apologized and sighed.

"I'm starting to think 'Joe, I'm sorry' is my actual name considering how often you say it to me. Get up to the lab. Start processing the evidence," he ordered her and she rolled her eyes at him before he walked away.

"Dr. Allen?" Dean walked up to the young woman and smiled at her. She turned around to look at him, returning his smile.

"Please just call me Hayley, everything else makes me sound like a grown-up," she joked and the brothers chuckled.

"Are you always this…?" Dean started to say, but thought it would probably be rude to call her weird.

"Weird, awkward, totally embarrassing?" She offered him with a knowing laugh. Dean shrugged his shoulders sheepishly at her. "Yeah, they probably would've fired me by now if I wasn't such a fucking genius." She grinned.

"And modest," Dean said with a chuckle. She laughed.

"So, what may I help you with, gentlemen?" She asked while putting some plastic bags with evidence into her bag.

"Uh, we're FBI agents Hetfield and Mustaine," Dean started to say and wasn't sure if she didn't smile a little at their names. He hoped she wouldn't be a big _Metallica_ fan. "Uh-," he stuttered like an idiot, completely forgetting his train of thought. Sam stared at him puzzled while Hayley's face carried an amused smile.

"Uh, we were told you were the leading expert on meta-humans and hoped you could help us out. We just need some information about them," Sam stepped in.

"Yeah, it's for the bureau," Dean added unnecessarily and winked at her awkwardly. Sam shot him another look.

"Oh-kay, then," she interrupted the short awkward silence. "Well, can I just see some ID?" She asked them nonchalantly. Sam handed her his ID expressionlessly. Dean swallowed hard before taking his ID out and handing it to her. He smiled nervously at her. Sam slightly kicked his leg and cleared his throat. Her eyes lingered on their fake badges for what felt like eternity. If she could tell, which car someone drove from its tire tracks, she sure would be able to tell a fake ID from a real one.

Finally, she handed them their badges back, smiling kindly at them. "Okay, well, I have to process those babies in my lab," she said, patting her hand on her bag with the evidence. "Gonna take me about two hours. But you can stop by later and I tell you what you want to know, alright?"

"Yeah, okay, sounds good. Agent Hetfield?" Sam said looking at his brother for confirmation. But Dean didn't respond, his eyes being somewhere else again. Sam cleared his throat. Still no response. "Agent Hetfield?" Nothing. "Agent Hetfield?" Sam said with force this time and kicked his brother in the leg again.

"Hm, what?" Dean asked, being pulled from his thoughts. Sam frowned at him.

"We'll stop by, thank you, Hayley," Sam said with an apologizing smile.

"Sure, everything for the bureau, right?" She said, walking past Dean and giving him an amused wink before she headed off to the other cops.

Sam slapped Dean's arm as soon as Hayley was out of sight. "Dude! What's wrong with you? You almost blew our cover!" Sam whined, looking at his brother annoyed.

"What?! I thought she's gonna notice our fake badges. I panicked, okay?" Dean defended himself. "Plus, her shirt was a little see-through," Dean added with a smirk. Sam rolled his eyes irritated and stomped back to the Impala.

* * *

Hayley was sitting with her feet on her desk, appreciatively eating her Big Belly burger. She was in her lab at the Central City police department, still waiting for the evidence to process, running the samples she had found at the crime scene through all databases.

Iris walked in and sat down at Hayley's desk.

"Hey, my sister from another mister," she said with a grin. "So, Dad told me John's kids were in town?"

"Yeah." Hayley let out a hysterical laugh.

"And you didn't tell me?" She reprehended her sister.

"It just happened a few hours ago," Hayley told her. Iris gave her a look.

"Well…I wanna meet them," Iris said with a determined look in her hazel eyes. Hayley knew that look too well. She had the same one when she wanted something.

"Hell no!" Hayley said, removing her feet from her desk.

"Oh, c'mon! Why are you and Dad the only ones who get to mess with them? Besides, I wanna know what they look like!" She said with a shrug.

"What, why?"

"'Cause I bet they're hot," Iris said with a grin. Hayley rolled her eyes at her sister.

"And you know that _how_ exactly?" Hayley gave her a questioning look.

"'Cause why else would you spend weeks of your life spying on them, if not for some eye candy?" Iris teased her with a grin. Hayley slapped her arm.

"Iris!" She could feel her cheeks blush a little. "Does Eddie know you talk like this?" Hayley teased her back. Iris giggled. "Besides, you know why," Hayley said, looking seriously at her sister again.

"Yeah, I know." She rolled her eyes. "Hey, but you _are_ coming to the bar tonight, right?"

"Yeah, if Joe let's me go. I think I pissed him off again," Hayley said, biting her lower lip. Iris laughed.

"Were you weird again?" Iris shot her a knowing look. Hayley looked away guiltily.

"It's not like I'm doing it on purpose!" She said defensively. They shared a long look before they burst into laughter.

"Well, if you're coming…bring Agents Pretty Boy and Bigfoot along," Iris suggested once their laughter had stopped. Hayley raised an eyebrow.

"Is that what Joe is calling them?" Hayley asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Iris replied and laughed too. "So, are you bringing them or what?" Iris sure was stubborn – just like her sister. That they didn't butt heads more often, even surprised them sometimes.

"No, I'm not gonna bring them, Iris. I still don't know if they're here to kill me or not. And even if _they_ didn't kill me, Joe probably _would_." Hayley sighed. Her eyes glanced worriedly over to her sister. She wouldn't put Iris in potential danger if she didn't have to. She had promised Joe to always look out for her.

Iris frowned at her, capitulating – for now, at least. She leaned over her sister's desk, snatching the pack of fries and stuffing a few of them in her mouth. Hayley grabbed the fries from Iris' hand again.

"Hands off my fries!" She told her sister. "Unbelievable," Hayley said jokingly, shaking her head. Iris frowned at her and stuck her tongue out.

"I'm stress eating over my dissertation. We started selling cronuts at Jitters. I ate two today. If I don't graduate soon, I'm gonna be more muffin top than woman," Iris joked and Hayley laughed.

"Well, _I_ think you look amazing," a low voice said from behind them.

Iris turned around and looked at the two men, who had just walked in. They both were really young and wore suits. The shorter one smirked at her, clearly checking her out, earning him an annoyed look from the taller one. She looked back at her sister, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, speaking of the devil," Hayley muttered to her sister, giving her a look.

"Agents, thanks for stopping by," she said, getting up from her chair, pushing Iris gently to the side.

"If we're interrupting something, we can come back later," Sam offered her politely.

"Oh, no! That's just my sister, who was about to _leave_." She gritted her teeth at the last word and gave Iris a long stern look.

"Yeah, right," Iris said and hopped off Hayley's desk, walking over to the door and past the two men. When she was behind them, she turned around and grinned mischievously at her sister.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Eddie's picking me up at six, so I'll see you at seven at the bar?" She asked innocently. Hayley glared at her.

" _B_ _ar_? You know, my partner and I were looking for a good drinking place in town," Dean said and smirked at Iris. He turned his head around and grinned at his brother before turning his attention back to her.

"Well, then you should come," Iris said flirtingly. "Cops and other enforcers of the law drink half off."

"Is that so? Well then, we'll sure be there," Dean flirted back, leaning in a little closer to Iris. Sam and Hayley both sighed at their siblings.

"Good," Iris said and smiled winningly at Hayley before she walked out the door for good.

"So, agents, you said you have questions?" She steered them back to topic.

"Uh, right, yeah," Sam stammered and walked over to her desk with Dean on his heels. "Do you know how many meta-humans are out there?"

"Starting off with the easy questions, are we?" She gasped and smiled. Sam chuckled. "Well, so far we've encountered five of them over the last year. But there have been reports of a lot more people with powers, missing persons…The particle accelerator exploded over the whole city and there's no way of finding out who got affected and more importantly, _how_ ," she explained. Talking about science always had been easy for her – she was immediately in her zone once she had started.

"What do you mean by _how_?" Dean asked her with a puzzled look.

"Okay so – for example, a couple months back, we had this meta who could replicate himself, creating a whole army of clones. And guess what the guy did for a living?" She looked at them expectantly like she was their teacher, waiting for a response from her students. Their faces were blank. "He was a scientist, who worked on cloning methods," she told them finally.

"So the people who were affected – it always had something to do with what they did during the explosion?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, the blast wave of the explosion carried all kinds of theoretical elements, like dark matter or negative energy, altering people's DNA," she expatiated.

"How dangerous are they?" Dean asked her.

"Well, not more dangerous than you and me, Agent," she said, leaning her butt against the desk with a smile. "Just imagine Gandhi and Hitler would've been in Central City during the explosion and gained superhuman abilities. Gandhi probably would've used his powers for good, whereas Hitler…well, I'm sure you get my point, Agents." They nodded simultaneously. "Not all of them are bad people. I bet some of them are even scared. I mean, just imagine waking up with superpowers one day – your whole world suddenly changes."

"I guess…but how do you catch the _bad_ sons of bitches?" Dean asked. Hayley chuckled.

"Well, usually the Flash catches them and locks them up," she told him.

"The Flash? Is that the woman in the red suit?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah, so you've heard of her. I've heard she's pretty awesome." Talking about her alter ego in third person almost felt like a habit by now.

"You've met her?"

"No, but she's all over the news, saving people and locking up criminals," Hayley told them casually.

"You have any detail on her? A name or an address maybe?" Sam suddenly spoke up again. He had been standing by quietly, listening to Dean's interview.

She shook her head. "No, sorry. She just pops in whenever and is gone just as fast. No one knows who she is."

"Okay, well, I think that'll be it for now. Can we come back if we have more questions?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, of course. Just stop by whenever," she replied with smile.

"Great, thanks so much for your help," Sam said and smiled, too. He started to walk over to the door, waiting for his brother to follow.

Dean didn't move an inch. Instead he remained right next to Hayley, giving her his utmost compelling smile. "Just one last question, this bar tonight…where is it?" Sam frowned at his brother again.

Hayley returned Dean's flirtatious smile, playing with her glasses. "Third Street and Oakley. See you there, Agent." She smirked at him. Dean smiled winningly, catching up with his brother by the door.

"See you then, Dr. Allen," he said with a wide grin before leaving her laboratory.

She rolled her eyes with a light sigh. She had to give him at least _one_ win.

* * *

Sam and Dean were in their motel room. They sat at a little table, crammed with newspapers dating back to the explosion. Sam was doing research on his laptop, while Dean was reading article after article. They didn't even know _what_ they were looking for.

"Find anything?" Sam asked his brother after a while, glancing over his laptop. Dean sat on his chair coolly, his feet resting on another chair, beer in one hand, newspaper in the other.

"No. You?" He asked, a little frustrated. His eyes already began to hurt from reading the past hours.

"Uh, not directly. I found a blog online, which is reporting sightings of the Flash," Sam said.

"Do you know who writes it?"

"Yeah, an Iris West." Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Any relation to Detective West?"

"Yeah, she's his daughter. I even pulled up a picture online and we actually met her," Sam said and turned the laptop around to show his brother the photo.

It was Dr. Allen's sister. They had met her briefly at the lab today.

"Well, great. I know exactly where to find her," Dean said and smirked at his brother. Sam rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Dean! Can you, maybe, not hit on the only two persons who might know where to find the Flash. I thought we wanted to get some answers!" Sam panted.

"I do…just relax, Sammy. We talk to her when we're there and tomorrow after breakfast, we can go find this thing," Dean told his little brother blithely. He got up and took another sip from his beer before he placed it on the table and grabbed his leather jacket from the chair. He grabbed Sam's jacket too and threw it at him before Dean walked over and gave him a light pat on the back. He grabbed the car keys and walked to the door, patiently waiting for his brother. Sam eventually got up and silently followed him, glaring at him the whole time. Dean chuckled and closed the door.

* * *

The brothers entered the bar and Dean eagerly walked over to the bartender – a guy. Dean frowned, but at least he still had the sisters as backup.

"And what can I get you, sir?" The bartender asked him with a wide grin while polishing a glass. The guy was about the same age as Dean – so it was definitely weird being called _sir_.

"Just a beer, chuckles," Dean told him.

"Ah, yes, of course! I took you for a beer guy," he said with a smile. He started to tap the beer into a glass. "So you new with the CCPD? Haven't seen you before here." He elegantly pushed over the beer to Dean.

"Uh, no, I'm with the bureau," Dean said. "We're here working a case."

"Ah, meta-humans." He sighed.

"You sound like you've met one." Dean looked at him.

"Yeah, you could say that – got almost squished to death by one. But I got saved by one too, so…even Steven, right?" He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't seem bothered at all by this whole meta-human thing.

"I guess so," Dean muttered. "So did the Flash save you too?" Dean asked, smiling at the guy now. There had to be some dirt on this mysterious woman – no one was _that_ clean.

"Yeah, of course. I mean, who else is around to catch those guys?" He chuckled. "The cops can't really do much against some lunatic with powers." That much was probably true. Dean wasn't even sure if meta-humans fell into the "hunter" category either. But who else would take them on? They surely didn't seem that different from a regular monster. Maybe, this was just one more thing on the list, they had to hunt now. He didn't really care.

Sam sat down next to his brother at the bar. "I'll have a coke, please," Sam told the bartender. Dean chuckled and shook his head at his brother. "You've seen them yet?"

Dean looked around the room. It was a full house tonight – most of them cops, he guessed. There was a stage where a band was setting up too, but no sight of the girls yet.

* * *

Hayley was late – _again_. She rushed to the bar, screeching to a halt in a back alley. _Shit_ , she thought as her shoes started catching on fire. She stamped her feet inelegantly until the fire died out again. She sighed deeply. This wasn't her day, at all.

Her mood changed when she entered the bar. Pretty much everyone who worked at CCPD was here already, celebrating happy hour as they always did on a Friday night off from the job.

She noticed Mike was standing on stage. She frowned. She had promised to sing with the band tonight – she occasionally did that to make amends with whatever cop she had offended that day. And today, there had been _many_. But they always had loved her singing ever since Joe had forced her to perform at the annual Christmas parties at CCPD when she was still a kid.

"I'm sorry, the band isn't playing yet, guys. But as you all know, our singer likes to be fashionably late," Mike told the crowd through the microphone in his usual sunny-boy-manner. The crowd booed and she swore someone even yelled ' _Where's Allen?'_. She rolled her eyes – so much for a good start.

Mike went back behind the bar. She hopped cheerfully past him, snatching the fedora he was wearing from his head and putting it on her own like a crown. He frowned at her, but couldn't pretend for long and started to grin again. She stuck out her tongue at him and grinned back before she jumped up the stage.

Performing had always been easy for her – it was the only thing that had made her feel comfortable and whole before she had gotten her powers. Now she didn't need it as much anymore, but she still loved every aspect of it. Especially, the boost of confidence and adrenaline.

She grabbed her guitar and sat down at the little stool on stage, placing the guitar carefully on her lap. She smiled over to the guitarist sitting on her left before she started hitting the guitar strings. " _I want you in my bed in a minute flat…,_ " she sang, carrying a smile all the way. She chose to cover ZZ Ward's _Move Like U Stole It_ – mostly to tease Mike. He used to be her boyfriend in college before they broke up two years ago. Now they were just friends, but the teasing and flirting had never really stopped between them.

She gave him a quick wink and he shook his head at her behind the bar with a laugh.

* * *

Dean's jaw had almost dropped to the floor, when that small awkward girl, he had met in the morning, jumped on stage and started to sing. She had quite a powerful voice for such a little person.

She was wearing black jeans shorts and a cut-out shirt. He could even see her freaking bra, for crying out loud. There was just no way he would listen to Sam and _not_ try to hit that. Although, she did seem to have a thing going with the bartender by the way they were flirting with each other.

Sam tapped his brother on the shoulder. "Dean?"

He turned around to look at Sam. "What?" He huffed back annoyed.

"I asked you a question five minutes ago and you haven't even reacted," Sam said innocently.

"I was enjoying the band," Dean explained defensively.

"Sure," Sam said and smiled amused. He knew Dean had been checking out Hayley again. He also knew Hayley would probably be too smart for his brother.

The band had finished their set and Hayley jumped off stage and gave the bartender his hat back. He curtseyed and poured her a whiskey. She chugged it in one go before her sister tapped her on the shoulder and they fell into a hug, jumping up and down excitedly.

Dean glanced to Sam and gestured over to Iris and Hayley. Sam stood up and walked on over to the two girls – and the young blonde cop from the morning, who had his arm around Iris' waist.

"Another cop, great." Dean frowned.

"Yeah, I'm surprised no one has recognized you yet and locked you up," Sam added.

"Ladies," Dean said with a grin as he approached them. They both turned around at the same time. They clearly felt a little interrupted.

"Agents, you made it," Iris said and smiled at them. "Uh, this is my boyfriend – Detective Eddie Thawne. But I'm sure you guys have already met at the station."

"Uh, no, actually. Nice to meet you, Agents," Eddie said and held out his hand. They both shook it with a polite smile. "What's the FBI doing here in Central City?"

"Meta-humans," Dean said simply.

Eddie rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'm gonna get us another round of drinks, okay?" He said and gave Iris a kiss before he left.

"Eddie's still a little freaked out when it comes to the whole meta-human stuff," Iris explained.

"Well, who could blame him?" Dean agreed. Hayley threw him a look.

"Uh, so, Iris, we've heard you write a blog about the Flash," Sam chimed in.

"Yeah, I'm a journalism major. I was actually one of the first people to know about her. So I thought I write about her. Let others know too." She smiled at Sam.

"Why?" Dean asked puzzled.

"Because, Agent, sometimes people need to believe in something – hope, miracles. And the Flash gives people that. I see her do the impossible every day to protect the city I love. And I think, others should know too."

Dean raised his eyebrow skeptically at her. He still didn't buy any of that sunshine-y crap this whole city was feeding him. "Have you ever actually met her?" Dean asked while taking another sip from his beer. He already knew the answer – no one had seen her.

"Yeah, I have. Several times, actually," Iris replied casually.

"Yeah, Iris is like a groupie," Hayley added jokingly. Iris slapped her arm playfully.

"Really?!" Dean asked incredulously. "Okay then. Where can we find her? We need to ask her a few questions."

"I don't know. She always contacts me, not the other way around," Iris explained and Dean frowned. She glanced past him and saw Joe talking to a pained Eddie. "Uh, would you excuse me for a second? I think I have to go save my boyfriend from my Dad," Iris said and elegantly extracted herself from their conversation.

"Poor Eddie," Hayley said and ordered herself another whiskey. Dean smiled at her. If she kept drinking at this rate, he wouldn't even need to put in any effort to get her drunk – she was doing that practically on her own.

Sam cleared his throat and glared at his brother. "I think I'm goin' to head back to the motel. Do some more research. You comin'?" Dean looked at him with a smile.

"You go ahead, Agent Mustaine. Unless you need two people to look into a computer screen," Dean teased his brother.

"Fine," Sam said and gritted his teeth. "Don't stay out too long, Agent Hetfield. We have an early day tomorrow." He shot Dean one last look before he left the bar.

"Wow, he seems needy," Hayley said and Dean turned his attention back to the beautiful woman next to him.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Dean rolled his eyes back. He looked back over to Detective West across the room, who was still talking to Iris and Eddie. "So, Detective West, is he always like this?" Hayley giggled.

"Uh, yeah. To people, he doesn't like," she said with a grin.

"Well, he doesn't seem to like me and my partner much." Dean chuckled.

"Yeah, you should hear the nicknames he gave you," Hayley added teasingly.

"Nicknames? What nicknames?" Dean asked her with a nervous laugh.

"Agent Pretty Boy and Bigfoot," Hayley answered and started to laugh.

"Great," Dean mumbled.

"But he's a actually a great guy. Best damn detective, too," she said with a kind smile.

"Can I ask you something?" Dean asked after a moment of silence. He almost had gotten lost again when he had looked into her sky blue eyes. He couldn't remember ever seeing a girl with eyes that blue.

"Sure, if you buy me another drink," she said and smiled flirtingly at him. He grinned at her and ordered two whiskeys, ditching the beer. His head would probably not thank him in the morning, but he didn't care. He couldn't let a girl drink harder liquor than he did.

"So, you and Iris are really sisters? I mean don't get me wrong or anything, but you two don't exactly look alike," Dean said and almost felt embarrassed to ask. It was just way too personal. Hayley just chuckled.

"Well, no shit, Captain Obvious. Iris and I have been best friends since kindergarten. Joe, Detective West, took me in and adopted me when I was eleven," she said and her look suddenly became a little saddened.

"May I ask what happened?"

"Uh, my mom got murdered." She emptied her whiskey again before she looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, Hayley," he said and he already felt pretty awful for asking. He of all people should have known to read those kinds of signals – "Dead Mom – don't talk to me about it". But the sad look in her eyes disappeared and got replaced with a smile again. She had built a wall around herself, just as much as he had. He knew the "pretending" game just too well.

"Well, I think I'm ready for some tequila now," she announced with a grin.

"What? You wanna get me drunk?" Dean smirked at her.

"Maybe." She astutely grinned back at him.

"I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into," he said flirtingly and leaned in a little.

"Oh, I beg to differ," she said, biting her lip.

He turned eagerly to the bartender. "Uh, three shots please for me and the lady. _Each_."

"Just three? What, are you scared, Agent?" She teased him with a grin. He looked at her stunned. That girl was definitely something else.

"Fine. Make it five," Dean said firmly, as Hayley laughed at him.

"You know, just a tip from your friendly local bartender – don't drink with her," Mike told Dean. Dean looked rather resentful at him.

"I think I can handle it, pal," he said.

"Just trying to give you a fair warning. That girl could drink any pirate under a table," Mike said and earned a laugh from Hayley.

"He's not wrong, though. You sure you wanna do this?" Hayley asked him with a provocative grin.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Dean said cockily and downed his first shot. "Your turn."

Hayley smiled at him amused before she grabbed her first shot and chugged it down. But she didn't stop there – she right away took the second one and drank it, continuing until all five of them were gone. She looked nonchalantly at Dean, who swallowed hard. He definitely had found a challenge. She didn't even seem like she was remotely buzzed and she drank a hell of a lot more than him. "I think you have some catching up to do," she said with a cheeky grin.

"Wow, you weren't kidding, huh?" He let out a jittery laugh. She shook her head with a naughty smile and held out another shot for him.

"Bottom's up," Hayley said when suddenly seemingly every phone in the bar started to ring, including Hayley's. She rolled her eyes back when she looked at it. "New crime scene," she said. "I'm sorry, but they need me to come down and take a look at it. Rain check?" She got up from her bar stool, grabbing her black leather jacket and pulling it back on.

"Yeah, no, don't worry. I get it," Dean said. He was disappointed, but if there was a new crime scene, he should probably check it out as well. He looked back up at Hayley, who was hastily getting ready – probably out of fear of being late again. She tucked some of her chocolate brown strands of hair behind her ear. And that's when he saw it – she had a tiny tattoo of a lightning bolt behind her left ear. It was identical to the one the Flash was wearing on the front of her suit.

* * *

Dean had rushed back to the motel as fast as he could. He burst through the door and found Sam sitting by his laptop. He looked up at his older brother, who seemed a little out of breath.

"You're home early. What's up with you?" Sam asked. Dean grabbed a beer from the mini fridge and sat down on his bed, still a little breathless.

"I think I found her," he finally declared and took a long swig from his beer.

"What? How?" Sam looked confused at him.

"It's the hot Dr.," Dean told him and took another sip.

"What?" Sam asked in a high-pitched voice. "You might wanna tell me how you know all that?"

"She had this little tattoo of a lightning bolt behind her ear," he said and gestured behind his own ear.

"That's it?" Sam raised his eyebrow.

"It's the same one the woman in the suit is wearing, Sam. And didn't she say all meta-humans were created by something they did during the explosion? Maybe, whoever it is, got struck by lightning – I mean, lightning, electricity, speed…that could work, right?" Dean suggested.

"Wow, Dean, that's pretty smart," Sam said with a smile.

"Thank you." Dean beamed proudly.

"And, yeah, I guess. So we just have to find out if someone got struck by lightning during the explosion…"

"…and we have our speed freak," Dean finished his brother's sentence as Sam turned back to his laptop to look through all the different databases and records.

"Got it," he said after a couple of minutes. Dean walked over to him and looked over his shoulder at the screen. "A Hayley Allen was struck by lightning and in a coma for nine months," Sam said and looked up to his brother, towering behind him. He looked angry. "You were right. It's her."

Dean grabbed the duffle bag with the weapons and threw it on the bed. He pulled out his gun and loaded it before he tucked it into his jeans behind his back. "Great, let's go," he ordered Sam and grabbed his jacket.

"Dean, would you wait? You can't just run in there with a gun. Are you crazy?" Sam argued. Dean glared at him.

"Why not?" He asked irritated.

"First of all, she hasn't done anything wrong yet, and secondly, it's a police station and you're wanted for murder in this state. Might wanna rethink your strategies." Dean frowned at his little brother and his little-know-it-all attitude.

"Fine. What do you suggest then, huh?"

"We go see her at the lab and talk to her. Ask her why she's doing this and what she knows," Sam explained calmly. Dean frowned again, but eventually complied.

* * *

Hayley was at S.T.A.R. labs. She had brought the evidence from the new crime scene here instead of her lab at CCPD, as soon as she knew she was dealing with another meta-human. She pulled up the suspect's profile on the big screen in the cortex. Caitlin and Cisco took a step closer to look at the man.

"And he can really control the weather?" Cisco asked, looking back at Hayley. He sounded a little too excited over a meta-human that had just killed someone.

"Yeah, Clyde Mardon. The recent robberies, they all happened during freak meteorological events," she explained. "Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did. From the storm cloud. He's still out there. We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else."

"All right, let's see if we can locate this guy," Cisco said eagerly.

"Good. I have to head back to CCPD. Call me when you find him," Hayley said.

"Sure, boss. Will do!" Cisco called out after her, chewing on a piece of licorice. "And you're welcome, by the way!" Hayley looked back at him and laughed.

* * *

It was long after midnight when she was still sitting at her desk. Clyde Mardon had killed someone today and she hadn't been there to stop it. She knew she wasn't responsible for what other meta-humans did, but she still felt like it was her responsibility to stop them from hurting other people.

She heard a gun clack – a very familiar sound by now and sighed. "Boys, please, I've had a very long day and an even rougher night," she said, not even glancing at them.

"Dean, put the gun down. You promised." She looked up from her desk and watched them. They glared at each other. Should she be flattered that they were bickering over her now apparently?

"No!" He said stubbornly and pushed Sam away, who had tried and take his brother's gun away.

"Dean, just let her explain," Sam argued, but was cut off again.

"What's there to explain, Sam? She's a freak with powers!" He shouted angrily and regretted it as soon as he said it. He knew what his little brother would say next.

"Oh, so you wanna kill me now too, huh? Because guess what, Dean, I have powers too," Sam said defensively.

"Yeah, I agree with, Sam," Hayley joined in. Dean glared at her.

"No one's asking you!" He yelled at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I mistook this as a fair trial, with you putting me on death row and all," Hayley said sarcastically.

"This is not how this works here, Speedy." He gnashed his teeth at her angrily.

"Oh, I forgot, I was talking to a murderer, who doesn't abide by any laws," Hayley snapped. She was fuming now too, and Sam looked helplessly back and forth between the two quarrelers. Dean still glared at her, not lowering his gun an inch. "Fine," Hayley said suddenly and got up from her desk. "I really didn't want to do this, but have it your way."

Dean didn't even really see or feel anything as lightning swished through the room. He looked down at his empty hands, when he heard his gun clacking. He frowned as he looked back up at Hayley, who coolly stood in front of her desk, and took his gun apart piece by piece and threw it behind her. Sam chuckled, which earned him another glare from his brother.

"Fine, let's talk then," Dean muttered. Hayley grinned at him winningly.

"Why didn't you tell us that it was you, we were looking for?" Sam asked her, stepping carefully a little bit closer. He didn't want to scare her. She seemed like a nice and normal girl, who probably was freaked out by his brother pointing a gun at her.

"Pretty obvious, isn't it?" She said and gestured to Dean, who still kept his eyes locked on her angrily. Sam sighed.

"So you really got struck by lightning during the explosion?" Sam asked her curiously.

"Yeah, the particle accelerator explosion also created a storm cloud. I was working at my lab here when the lightning came through the roof." She took a step closer and looked up to a big glass window on the ceiling. "I also fell into the chemical rack over there. I was in a coma for nine months. My heartbeat kept stopping and the doctors didn't know what to do with me until I got moved over to S.T.A.R. labs. Turned out my heart never stopped, it was just too fast for any normal EKG to register it."

"S.T.A.R. labs – they built the accelerator, right?" Sam asked and Hayley nodded.

"Yeah, they've been helping me catch other meta-humans."

"Well, nice story. How do you know our Dad?" Dean interrupted their chit-chatting angrily. He was here for some real answers. He saw Hayley taking a deep breath before she answered.

"A couple of months ago, there were a couple of vampires in Central City…"

"Vampires? I thought there was no such thing," Dean cut in again.

"Yeah, your Dad thought they were extinct too, but he was pretty sure they were vampires," Hayley replied and Dean looked at her somewhat pleased with her answer. "Anyways, one of them got Iris and I tried to get her back. Almost got myself killed, if it weren't for your dad."

"He saved you?" Dean asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, he only found out I had powers later. He contacted me a few weeks after that and asked me if I could keep an eye on you two. So I said yes," Hayley said and glanced over to Dean. His expression had cooled a little and he didn't look like he wanted to bite her head off anymore.

"For how long?"

"He never said. He just told me to keep you safe. Nothing more," Hayley explained and the brothers frowned.

"Sounds like Dad," Sam mumbled and they shared a knowing look.

"Yeah, but why not tell us?" Dean asked still in disbelief.

"Dude, I don't know. You'd have to ask that your father. This whole thing wasn't my idea. And for the record, I told him it was stupid multiple times." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Sam chuckled.

"Yeah, I bet he took that really well," Sam said sarcastically and Dean shot him a sharp look.

"What about Detective West and your sister, do they know about you?" Dean questioned her. He was still looking for something to pin her down with. He just needed _one_ good reason. And honestly, it didn't even have to be _that_ good.

"Yes, they know, Dean. They're my family." She looked him straight into his eyes when she said those words. She knew they meant something to him.

Their staring contest got abruptly interrupted when Hayley's phone rang.

"Cisco?" She said, picking up.

" _Hey, I just got a ping. Atmospheric pressure dropped 20 millibars in a matter of seconds. I've tracked it to a farm just west of the city_ ," Cisco told her. She walked over to her computer and looked at the map in front of her.

"I'm on my way, thanks." She hung up. She looked up to the boys. "Okay look, you've heard my story and I think you can tell I'm a good person. I didn't choose this. I was normal. I went to school, I had friends, a family, I worked here, and that was it." Sam looked at her sympathetically, while Dean stared obstinately at the floor tiles in front of him. "So if you wanna kill me, then go ahead and kill me. But I have a city to save first, okay?" She said and gathered her things before heading for the door. That she didn't use her super speed for that, was just a courtesy of hers.

"Okay, but we're coming with," Dean insisted resolutely. She frowned at him.

"No, you're not going anywhere. He already killed someone today. No one else is dying on my watch tonight. You two stay here. I'll be back soon," she commanded them and whooshed out of the lab. Dean sighed annoyed.

"I hate that," he mumbled frustrated.

"You know, she sounds a bit like you," Sam added amused.

"No, she doesn't, shut up!" He told his brother vexed. He walked over to Hayley's computer and wrote down an address on a piece of paper. "Come on. Let's go catch us a meta-human, Sammy," Dean said and Sam couldn't believe it, but his brother almost sounded a little bit excited at the prospect of it.

* * *

The brothers arrived at an abandoned farmhouse just outside the city. They got out of the Impala and walked up to the barn.

"Dean, you don't even know what this meta-human can do. How are you going to kill it?" Sam whispered.

"It's part human, Sam. That means I can just shoot it," Dean answered plainly.

"Yeah, because that worked out so well with you and Hayley," Sam muffled.

"You wanna make friends with every monster now, huh, Sammy?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying…"

"Well, I don't really care. Let's just get this over with." And with that Dean ended the conversation and snuck carefully into the barn, Sam not far behind him. They found a good hiding spot behind some hay bales.

"Hands behind your head, Mardon. You're arrested." Hayley stood in the middle of the barn, face to face with a scrawny looking man. She was fully suited up, wearing a mask that only covered her eyes and her hair was up in a high ponytail.

"You got me." He cackled. "The night of the storm, after S.T.A.R. Labs blew, after our plane went down, and I woke up on the ground alive, when I saw what I can do, I understood. I am God," he marveled. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Great, another douchebag with an ego," he muttered to Sam.

"Shut the hell up," Hayley reprimanded him.

"Turn around," Mardon told her and as she did, she could see Sam and Dean standing behind her, guns raised, but this time not for her, at least. "Do you think that your guns can stop God?"

"Why in the hell would God need to rob banks?" Dean countered.

"You're right. I've been thinking too small," Mardon replied, a crooked smile crossing his face. He raised his hands high above him, and with him a giant storm cloud, slowly forming into what looked like a tornado.

" _Hayley, this thing's getting closer. Wind speeds are 200 Miles-per-hour and increasing_ ," she heard Cisco's voice through her ear piece. She sighed relieved. She had missed Cisco's and Caitlin's voices in her head when she had been on missions with the boys the past weeks.

" _Hayley, can you hear me?_ "

"Yeah. Loud and clear."

" _If it keeps up, this could become an F-5 tornado. But it's headed towards the city_ ," Cisco explained.

"How do I stop it? Guys?" Hayley asked a little panicked by now. If this thing hit the city, a lot of people would die.

"Can you unravel it somehow?" She spun around and looked at Sam. She thought about it.

"How the hell is she goin' to do that, Sam?" Dean asked his brother. There was just no way of stopping this thing now.

"I could run around it in the opposite direction, cut off its legs," Hayley said and Dean looked at her baffled.

" _Hayley, you'd have to clock 700 Miles-per-hour to do that_ ," Cisco said in her ear.

" _Your body may not be able to handle those speeds. You'll die_ ," Caitlin told her worriedly.

"I have to try," Hayley said. There was just no other option. She could do it.

The tornado ripped the barn to shreds. She grabbed the brothers and sped them outside, hiding them behind their car from any flying debris that might come their way. They watched shocked as the tornado grew bigger and bigger.

Hayley ran towards it and kept circling around it, running faster as she had ever done before. But it didn't seem to work and she could feel her body give in to the weight of it all. She felt tired and her legs felt heavy. Her lungs felt like they would explode any second now. She glanced over to the boys, who watched her with mouths wide open. She just had to make it.

She closed her eyes and even though she thought it would be impossible to run even faster, she did. The wind started to become weaker, and suddenly there was a bang and the tornado started to crumble into itself, leaving Clyde Mardon at the center of it.

"I didn't think there was anyone else like me," Mardon said and pointed a gun at her.

"I'm not like you. You're a murderer," Hayley told him. He smiled at her and was about to pull the trigger when someone from behind her shot him. She turned around and looked at Dean.

"Douchebag," he muttered, and Hayley and Sam started to laugh.

* * *

She accompanied the boys to the Impala. "You know, usually we don't kill our meta-humans here, just lock 'em up," she said and looked at Dean.

"Yeah, well, he was a killer, which makes him a monster in my book. And we kill monsters," Dean argued.

"Fair enough," Hayley said and smiled at him.

"What, no snarky remark?" He looked at her surprised.

"Nope. Some people aren't as judgmental as you are, you know." She grinned at him and for the first time, he smiled back at her and meant it. "So you still wanna kill me?"

"No, but keep up the bad jokes and I still might," Dean teased her.

"Does this mean you're going to let me help you?" He furrowed his brows and closed the car trunk before looking at her sternly.

"No," he said harshly. "Look, I appreciate what you did. But we don't need your help." Dean got into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Dean!" Sam called out after his older brother frustrated. He looked commiseratively to the girl in the mask and sighed. "Thank you, Hayley. I'll call you when something's up." She nodded her head with a smile.

"Sam!" Dean yelled impatiently from the car before Sam got into the Impala and they drove away into the distance again.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of this story! It sure was a lot of fun to write! :D

This chapter was based on the pilot episode of the Flash. I changed a lot as you could tell as I'm not writing canon in Flash, just in SPN. So far this will be the only Flash-centered chapter of this season. Next I'll continue with 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 of SPN and work Hayley into it and we see her relationship with the brothers develop. I made Hayley a good singer on purpose, so she eventually could sing her lungs out with Dean in the Impala haha

So stay tuned for the next one and please leave a review! :)

PS: I updated chapter 1 as there were a few typos in there (full disclosure: I had lost my glasses that day). Everything should be good now. If for some reason you still find anything, let me know ;)

PPS: Also check out the song by ZZ Ward I mentioned in the bar scene. She's awesome and I always found that song pretty bold, which I wanted Hayley to be at that moment. Okay, that's it, bye!


	3. Chapter 3: Hell House (17)

_Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father_  
 _Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers_  
 _Leave all your love and your longing behind_  
 _You can't carry it with you if you want to survive_

 _Dog Days Are Over_ by **Florence + The Machine**

* * *

 **3\. Hell House (SPN 1.17)**

The brothers were on the road again, heading towards Richardson, Texas. Dean was driving and glanced over at Sam. His little brother was dead asleep with his mouth wide open. He fumbled around his car before grabbing a plastic spoon. He carefully placed it in Sam's mouth and took a photo of his brother with his cell phone, before turning up the music and singing along to Blue Oyster Cult's _Fire of Unknown Origins_.

"Fire...of unknown origins...took my baby away!" Dean belted out the lyrics loudly and started to drum to the rhythm of the song on the steering wheel. Sam startled up, noticing something in his mouth before throwing his arms around and spitting out the spoon. Dean grinned widely at him.

"Ha ha, very funny," Sam remarked annoyed. He turned down the music again and narrowed his eyes at his childish brother. Dean chuckled.

"Sorry, not a lot of scenery here in East Texas, kinda gotta make your own," he explained coolly.

"Man, we're not kids anymore, Dean. We're not going to start that crap up again."

"Start what up?" Dean looked innocently at his brother.

"That prank stuff. It's stupid, and it always escalates," Sam said with a pout.

"Aw, what's the matter Sammy, scared you're going to get a little Nair in your shampoo again, huh?" Dean teased him.

"All right, just remember you started it," Sam warned him.

"Uh huh, bring it on baldy," Dean challenged him with a grin.

"Where are we anyway?" Sam changed the subject.

"A few hours outside of Richardson. Gimme the lowdown again," Dean ordered and Sam pulled out the newspaper article he had found.

"All right, about a month or two ago, this group of kids goes poking around in this local haunted house," Sam read from the article.

"Haunted by what?" Dean cut in.

"Apparently, a pretty misogynistic spirit. Legend goes, it takes girls and strings them up in the rafters. Anyway, this group of kids see this dead girl hanging in the cellar," Sam explained.

"Anybody ID the corpse?"

"Well, that's the thing. By the time the cops got there, the body was gone. So, cops are saying the kids were just yanking chains."

"Maybe the cops are right," Dean suggested.

"Maybe, but I read a couple of the kids' firsthand accounts. They seemed pretty sincere."

"Where'd you read these accounts?" He asked skeptically.

"Well, I knew we were going to be passing through Texas. So, uhm, last night, I surfed some local…paranormal websites. And I found one," he told Dean a little embarrassed, who rolled his eyes.

"And what's it called?"

"Hell Hounds Lair. com," Sam answered. Dean chuckled.

"Lemme guess, streaming live out of Mom's basement," he joked.

"Yeah, probably." Sam laughed.

"Yeah. Most of those websites wouldn't know a ghost if it bit 'em in the persqueeter," Dean said with a grin.

"Look. We let Dad take off – which was a mistake, by the way. And now, we don't know where the hell he is. And you also didn't want Hayley's help for some reason…," Sam sulked. Dean threw him a sharp look.

"Oh, don't start this up again. We don't need her help, Sam. How many times do I have to tell you?" Dean looked at him irritated.

"Fine." Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. "But in the meantime, we gotta find ourselves something to hunt. There's no harm checking this thing out," Sam said, trying to keep the peace between the two of them.

"All right. So where do we find these kids?"

"Same place you always find kids in a town like this," Sam replied and smiled knowingly at Dean.

* * *

 **Richardson, Texas**

They drove up to the local diner, fittingly called _Rodeo Drive_ , and interviewed the three teenagers that supposedly saw a ghost in that house. The only problem was, their stories varied greatly from each other. They couldn't even agree on the victim's hair color. However, they all heard the story from the same person – a guy named Craig, who worked at the local record store.

They were on their way to the music shop, posing as reporters for the _Dallas Morning News_ this time.

"Maybe we should call Hayley with this thing, Dean. She seems good at solving puzzles. We could use her eyes," Sam said and Dean frowned at him. He stopped walking and turned around to face Sam.

"Would you let it go already? I told you we don't need her, so we don't need her, Sam!" Dean bellowed angrily, his brows furrowed. He spun around again and walked into the store without saying anything further. Sam sighed and followed his persistent brother.

The boys took a look around the store, surfing through the music collection, when they were approached by a guy. "Fellas, can I help you with anything?"

"Yeah, are you Craig Thurston?" Sam asked.

"I am," Craig replied with a nod.

"Well, we're reporters with the _Dallas Morning News_. I'm Dean, this is Sam," Dean introduced them.

"No way. Well, I'm writer too. I write for my school's lit magazine," Craig told them.

"Well, good for you Morrissey," Dean wisecracked and Sam shot him a look.

"Uhm, we're doing an article on local hauntings and rumor has it you might know of one," Sam cut in.

"You mean the Hell House?" Craig asked.

"That's the one," Dean responded.

"I didn't think there was anything to the story," Craig said.

"Why don't you tell us the story?" Sam looked at him softly.

"Well, supposedly back in the '30s, this farmer, Mordachai Murdoch, used to live in this house with his six daughters. It was during the Depression, his crops were failing, he didn't have enough money to feed his own children. So I guess that's when he went off the deep end," Craig recounted.

"How?" Sam asked.

"Well, he figured it was best, if his girls died quick, rather than starve to death. So he attacked them. They screamed, begged for him to stop, but he just strung 'em up, one after the other. And when he was all finished, he just turned around and hung himself. Now, they say that his spirit is trapped in the house forever, stringing up any other girl that goes inside," he stated.

"Where'd you hear all this?" Dean asked him a little doubtfully.

"My cousin Dana told me. I don't know where she heard it from. You gotta realize, I…I didn't believe this for a second," Craig told them, getting a little freaked.

"But now you do?" Sam looked at the kid.

"I don't know what the hell to think, man. You guys, I…I'll tell you exactly what I told the police, ok? That girl was _real_. And she was dead. This was not a prank. I swear to God, I don't wanna go anywhere near that house ever again, okay?"

"Thanks," Dean said and nodded.

* * *

The brothers decided to hit up the public library and do some research on this supposedly murderous farmer. Dean decided to wait for Sam outside – libraries were more his little brother's kind of thing. It didn't take long before Sam came back out again.

"Hey. What you got?" Dean asked.

"Well, I couldn't find a Mordechai, but I did find a Martin Murdock who lived in that house in the '30s. He did have children but only two of them, both boys, and there's no evidence he ever killed anyone," Sam said frustrated.

"Huh."

"So…I called Hayley for help. She's on her way," Sam said quickly under his breath, already expecting his brother's incoming temper tantrum.

"You did _what_?!" Dean's brows furrowed, his face turning red.

"Hey, guys." Dean recognized the chipper voice behind him immediately. The small brunette woman was standing next to him. She was wearing ripped blue jeans, black sneakers, and a black and white checkered flannel shirt. He was glad she wasn't in her suit, although he gathered she probably wouldn't wear it in broad daylight. He tried to ignore her and instead kept his eyes focused on Sam.

"Dean, c'mon, we've got nothing so far. We could use her help with this," Sam reasoned.

"I told you not to call her. We don't need her help! How many times do I have to tell you that, huh?"

"You didn't tell him?" Hayley shot Sam a displeased look. Sam just nodded guiltily. "Well, that's mature," she muttered.

"I'd say so," Dean for once agreed with her.

"Look guys, we can stand here and keep fighting or go work this case," Sam tried to prevail on them. Hayley and Dean just stood there silently, trying to avoid eye contact with each other. Sam sniggered. "Okay, I take that as a yes. Hayley, you find anything?"

"No, not yet. I hacked the local police records and checked the missing persons. No one matching the girl you described. It's like she never existed," Hayley said.

"Yeah, you were right, Sammy. She's _very_ useful," Dean mocked her. She glared at him. "Dude, come on, we did our digging, man, this one's a bust all right. For all we know those kids made up the whole thing."

"Dean, we haven't even checked out the house yet. That's sloppy even for you," Sam countered.

"All right, fine. We'll go tomorrow morning. Right now, I say we find ourselves a bar and some beers." Dean grinned at them and proceeded to get into the Impala. Hayley sighed and wanted to follow suit, but was stopped by Sam's hand. He grinned at her before he leaned down to look into the passenger's seat's window.

Hayley followed Sam's amused gaze to Dean, who was about to turn the key to the ignition. Suddenly, loud Latino pop music started blasting through the stereo and Dean jumped up. As he tried to turn it off, the wipers turned on instead. He reared back and quickly tried to turn everything off. Hayley and Sam burst into laughter as they got into the car and Sam licked his finger and painted an imaginary _1_ into the air before pointing to himself.

"That's all you got? Weak. That is bush league." Dean shot his brother a look before pulling out of the parking spot.

* * *

It was later than expected when the boys arrived at the _Hell House_ the next morning. Hayley and Sam had a hard time to get a hung-over Dean out of bed. The brothers were just getting out of the Impala when Hayley stopped to a halt right next to them. She was wearing her glasses and had brought her lab bag along.

"Hey, guys," she chirped almost melodically. Dean groaned before grabbing his head in pain.

"Please, no happy people in the morning," he grunted. Sam chuckled.

"You sound like an old grouch," Hayley teased him. "Here, brought you guys some breakfast." She handed them each a paper bag with some breakfast burritos. "Should help with the hangover." Sam took it thankfully while Dean was practically already stuffing his mouth with food.

"How come you're not hung-over? I saw you drink those ten tequila shots," Dean asked with his mouth full. Hayley giggled.

"You realize I can't get drunk, right? Booze does nothing to me." Dean looked confused at her.

"What?!"

"You can't get drunk, Hayley?" Sam asked her with a curios smile.

"Nope, my metabolism just burns right through the stuff." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, that explains a lot. And kinda sucks actually," Dean commented. He felt a little relieved – he had almost been doubting himself and his ability to out-drink a girl.

"Yeah, tell me about it." She sighed.

They stood in front of an old, abandoned house overgrown with weeds. The windows were broken and there was barely any paint left on the walls.

"Yeah, that doesn't look creepy at all," Hayley remarked.

"Can't say I blame the kid," Sam agreed.

"Yeah, so much for curb appeal," Dean said and took out his EMF meter. It was beeping.

"I don't think it'll work. Power lines still have a little juice in it," Hayley said and gestured to the wires above their heads.

"Yeah, it's no good. It's screwing with all the readings," Dean said before putting the meter back into his pocket. "Come on, let's go inside."

Hayley and Sam followed Dean inside the house. They had to step carefully as the house wasn't the most stable anymore either. The walls were filled with graffiti of different symbols.

Dean walked around the room and whistled. "Looks like old man Murdock was a bit of a tagger here in his time."

"And after his time, too. That reverse cross has been used by Satanists for centuries. But this sigil of sulfur didn't show up in San Francisco until the '60s," Hayley said nonchalantly. She had entered full on geek mode and she knew it. Dean stared at her.

"Pretty impressive, Hayley," Sam complimented her.

"Thank you. I've read up on some lure." She grinned at him.

"Yeah? Maybe, you can use it in your weekly book club once I drag your ass back to Central City," Dean teased her and she shot him a look. He ignored her and moved across the room to look at a symbol that's been tagged on the wall. "Hey what about this one, you seen this one before?" Hayley took a step closer to look at it. It looked like a cross with an upside down question mark in the middle.

"I guess it kinda looks familiar," she finally said.

"Yeah, I've seen it somewhere, too," Dean added.

Sam came over to them and rubbed on the symbol. "It's paint. Seems pretty fresh, too." He took a photo with his phone.

"I don't know, Sam. You know I hate to agree with authority figures of any kind, but…the cops may be right about this one," Dean said.

"Yeah, maybe," Sam agreed, nodding his head.

There was a noise coming from another room and the boys were straightaway on alert, taking positions on either sides of the door. Hayley didn't even bother to move and Dean frowned at her, before giving Sam a nod. They busted the door open and were blinded by flashlights being shone in their faces. Hayley walked up behind the brothers and looked at the two guys standing before them.

"Oh, cut. It's just a couple of humans," a redheaded guy with glasses and a beard shouted and switched off his camera. The other one was a small young guy with black short hair. He was holding a big flashlight in his hands. "What are you guys doing here?"

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Dean retorted.

"Uh, we belong here? We're professionals?" The redheaded guy replied.

"Professional what?" Dean asked and raised his eyebrow.

"Paranormal Investigators," he answered and handed all three of them business cards. "There you go, take a look at that, boys. And since the lady has my number now, maybe she can give me hers?" He said and winked at Hayley. She didn't even look up at him.

"No," she replied concisely. Sam and Dean chortled.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Hayley muttered from behind them as she looked at the business card. Dean and Sam finally looked at their own and rolled their eyes.

"Ed Zeddmore and Harry Spengler. Hell Hounds Lair. com. You guys run that website," Sam said.

"Yeah," Ed replied somewhat proudly.

"Oh yeah, yeah, we're huge fans," Dean said sarcastically as he walked around the room.

"And uh, we know who you guys are too," Ed told them and suddenly all three of them shot him a sharp look.

"Oh yeah?" Sam asked challengingly.

"Amateurs," Ed replied and Dean turned away from him, rolling his eyes. "Looking for ghosts and cheap thrills."

"Yup. So if you guys don't mind, we're trying to conduct a serious scientific investigation here," Harry spoke up for the first time.

"Really? A _scientific_ investigation, huh?" Hayley asked mockingly and raised an eyebrow at these two dorks.

"Harry, why don't you tell 'em about EMF?" Ed suggested mysteriously at his companion.

"EMF?" Sam asked, obviously playing dumb.

"Electromagnetic field? Spectral entities can cause energy fluctuations that can be read with an EMF detector. Like this bad boy right here," Harry said and pointed at his EMF meter. He walked over to Hayley. "It's physics," he whispered with a wink to her. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Whoa. Whoa. It's 2.8mg," Harry shouted excitedly as he turned the meter on.

"2.8. It's hot in here," Ed commented. Dean whistled in pretend admiration while Sam and Hayley gave their best to look stunned without breaking into laughter.

"Huh. So you guys ever really seen a ghost before, or...?" Hayley asked them.

"Once. We were, uh...we were investigating this old house and we saw a vase fall right off the table," Ed replied.

"By itself," Harry added in a whisper tone.

"Well, we…we didn't actually see it, we heard it. And something like that...it, uh, it changes you," Ed said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I think I get the picture. We should go, let them get back to work," Dean said and turned around to his brother and Hayley.

"Yeah, you should," Ed said and the three of them left the house.

* * *

They spent the rest of the day in the library before heading back to the motel and do some more research there. Unfortunately, they couldn't find _anything_ that would suggest that the creepy old house was being haunted. Dean wanted to leave town – more than that, he wanted to get rid of Hayley. He didn't like it one bit that she was here, but his brother had insisted to stay at least one more night, just to make sure.

They woke up in the middle of the night to a couple of police sirens driving by the motel. Hayley was immediately awake and sped to her laptop at the little dining table in their room. She yawned as she hacked into the Richardson police department's data at super speed.

"Well, that's not annoying at all." Dean sat up in his bed and rolled his eyes at her. He looked over to Hayley, who was still in her sleeping attire – a white oversized t-shirt and red underwear with a lightning bolt on her…

"Stop, looking at my butt," Hayley mumbled, not even batting an eyelash at him, her eyes focused on the screen. He frowned.

"I'm not the one who's wearing their own underwear," he mumbled almost inaudibly.

"A body was found at the Hell House," she said and looked at Sam, who was still stretching in his bed. The brothers shared a look.

"Let's go," Dean said and got simultaneously with Sam out of bed.

* * *

A bunch of police cars and an ambulance were parked outside the old farmhouse. A body bag was carried out on a stretcher. The three of them approached an older man standing outside.

"What happened?" Hayley asked the man sadly, her eyes not being able to leave the body bag.

"A couple of cops say a girl hung herself in the house," he explained.

"Suicide?" Sam asked and took a step forward.

"Yeah, she was a straight A student, with a full ride to UT too. It just don't make sense," the man said and Hayley walked away, the boys trying to catch up with her. Even at human speed, she was walking fast.

"What do you think?" Sam asked them.

"I think, maybe we missed something," Dean replied with a frown.

"We should've saved that girl," Hayley said, still not turning around.

"We can't save everybody," Dean told her unambiguously.

"Well, maybe we should try harder," Hayley snapped back and turned around to look at him harshly. When he didn't say anything, she headed for the car again and got in.

"Yeah, it was a great idea to bring her along, Sammy," Dean mumbled before getting into the front seat of the Impala. Sam let out a frustrated sigh.

* * *

They waited until sundown before they decided to go back to the Hell House. A police car was still parked outside the house, two officers standing guard. They hid in a couple of bushes not far from the house.

"I guess, the cops don't want anyone else screwing around in there," Sam said.

"Yeah, but we still gotta get in there," Dean said.

"I could just run in there. They wouldn't even see me," Hayley suggested and Sam nodded.

"You're not going in there alone. This thing is after girls. You probably just get yourself killed." Dean looked at her sternly and she rolled her eyes back.

They heard whispers in the distance and Dean peeked out from their hiding place to see what was going on. He frowned when he recognized the two silhouettes creeping through the woods, fully packed with all kinds of different gadgets.

"I don't believe it," he mumbled. Hayley and Sam spun around to get a look at what Dean was seeing.

"Great. Looks like Tweedledee and Tweedledum are here." Hayley let out a deep sigh, watching Ed and Harry struggle through the woods.

"I got an idea," Dean said suddenly with a grin. He rose up slightly, turning to the cops. Sam and Hayley watched him curiously.

"Who you gonna call!" Dean yelled, cupping a hand to his mouth. The cops looked around and found a baffled Ed and Harry. The two quickly gathered their things and ran away as quickly as they could. The cops left their guard and started chasing after them. The three of them came out of their hiding space as soon as everyone had cleared out for good. They could barely contain their laughter.

Dean's prank finally bought them some time to check out the house again. As soon as they entered, Sam handed them both rifles filled with rock salt. Dean took his and turned on a flashlight. Hayley hesitated when Sam was holding out the gun to her.

"I'm good, thank you," she said and tried to keep her cool. She walked over to the fire place instead and grabbed a iron fire poker. Dean shot her a look, but decided to let this one slide. Besides, he wasn't sure if she wouldn't accidently shoot him or Sam.

"Where have I seen that symbol before? It's killing me!" Dean said frustrated as he shone his flashlight on the weird question mark symbol again.

"Come on, we don't have much time," Sam hurried them.

They snuck down to the basement and looked around. Hayley walked over to some old, dusty shelves, a few jars filled with obscure liquids standing on the racks. She picked up a jar with some pale red fluid sloshing around inside and looked at it curiously. Dean grabbed it from her hands and observed it himself before turning to Sam.

"Hey Sam, I dare you to take a swig of this." Dean smirked at his little brother. Sam shot him a look that was more annoyed than amused.

"What the hell would I do that for?"

"I double dare you." Dean chuckled, but got harshly ignored by Sam. Hayley raised an eyebrow at Dean and shook her head.

Their joking was interrupted by some strange noises coming from a cabinet. The boys immediately moved over to it, nodding at each other before they opened the door. A few rats scampered out of the cabinet. They squeaked as the bright flashlight scared them out of their home.

"Argh! I hate rats," Dean cried out and lifted his feet, trying to avoid the rats.

"You'd rather it was a ghost?" Sam asked him with a snigger.

"Yes," Dean answered, frowning.

"But they're so cute," Hayley said and knelt down. She pulled out a few cookies from her bag and gave them to the rats.

"You think these things are cute?" Dean raised his brows in disbelief.

"Yeah, why not? Some of them sure seem to be smarter than you," she teased him with a smile. He rolled his eyes at her. As she got back up, she noticed someone appear behind Sam. _Mordechai_ , she realized and her eyes widened. Dean and Sam noticed the ghost at the same time and spun around as Mordechai was about to raise an axe at them.

Hayley's eyes adjusted immediately to the threat and she raced over to the boys and pushed them out of the way and into the walls. It was way harder than she had expected, but at least, they wouldn't get hacked into pieces.

However, she wasn't fast enough to save her own ass and the axe brushed her left arm, leaving a bleeding gash on her biceps. She cried out at the piercing pain as Mordechai was ready to hit again when Sam shot at him twice. But the ghost didn't even flinch at the rock salt.

She gripped her arm to stop the blood flow and managed to speed away before Mordechai could strike his axe again. Dean then took another shot at the ghost, who then abruptly evaporated.

"What the hell kind of spirit is immune to rock salt?" Sam asked and helped Hayley to her feet.

"I dunno. Come on. Come on, come on!" Dean hurried them to the stairs.

Sam and Hayley had almost reached the stairs when the spirit reappeared and smashed his axe into the shelves with jars, burying Dean underneath it.

Sam attacked the apparition before it could go after Dean as Hayley raced over to him to help him get up. He grabbed her and bolted upstairs while Sam was still fighting with the ghost.

"Go! Get outta here!" Sam shouted as Mordechai swung his axe at him. He managed to get a grip on it and duck. The spirit's axe smashed into an electrical box, sparks flying everywhere.

They ran as fast as they humanly could to the front door, almost knocking over Harry and Ed, who were standing on the front porch, holding a camera.

"Get that damn thing outta my face," Dean yelled at them as the three blew past them and headed for the Impala.

Mordechai had already reappeared inside the house and for the first time, even Harry and Ed saw a real ghost. They started to scream, but the spirit vanished just as the police came back and arrested the pair.

* * *

Sam and Dean stormed into the motel room. They sat Hayley down at one of the beds as Dean ran into the bathroom for the first aid kit. He knew Hayley's wound needed to be stitched – he had seen the axe cut through her flesh right to the bone. He was surprised she hadn't made a fuss about it. Maybe she wanted to seem strong. He glanced over to her. She quietly sat on the bed, observing the swirling chaos around her.

"Guys, I don't think this is necessary," she said as Sam pulled her sleeve up to clean the wound.

"You lost a lot of blood. You need stitches," Dean growled at her. He knew she would get herself hurt, even though she did it while saving them.

"No, really. I feel fine," she told them sincerely, but Dean ignored her.

"No, you're not fine. Now, shut up," he barked.

"Uh, Dean…," Sam said carefully as he looked down at Hayley's injury.

"What?!"

"I think she's right," Sam said. Dean walked over to the bed to take a look at Hayley's arm. The deep cut had completely healed.

"How the hell…," Dean started to say, utterly baffled. He had seen how deep that wound had been.

"I heal quickly. It's one of the perks included in the package," she said with a wide grin. Dean rolled his eyes at her and frowned.

"That's pretty neat." Sam chuckled.

"Yeah, especially when you have a tendency to get yourself killed," Dean murmured and Hayley scowled at him.

"I saved your ass, too, you know," she snapped back.

"Yeah, about that – I thought Mordechai went only after chicks?" Dean said to Sam now. He sat down on his bed and started drawing the weird question mark symbol, he had been obsessed with since he had seen it at the Hell House. "And what the hell is this symbol? It's buggin' the hell outta me. This whole damn job's buggin' me," he complained.

"Well, yeah, according to the story he's only supposed to attack women," Hayley affirmed him.

"All right. Well, I mean that explains why he went after you and Sam, but why me?" Dean grinned at his little brother. Sam shook his head.

"Hilarious. The legend also says he hung himself but did you see those slit wrists?" Sam asked them.

"Yeah," Dean replied.

"What's up with that? And the axe, too. I mean, ghosts are usually pretty strict, right? Following the same patterns over and over?" Hayley asked, looking from one brother to the other.

"But this mook keeps changing," Dean said.

"Exactly. I'm telling you, the way the story goes…wait a minute," Sam said as he pulled up the website on his laptop.

"What?" Hayley asked and walked over to Sam to take a look at the screen.

"Someone added a new post to the Hell Hound site. Listen to this. They say Mordechai Murdock was really a Satanist who chopped up his victims with an axe before slitting his own wrists. Now he's imprisoned in the house for eternity." Sam frowned.

"Where the hell is this going?" Hayley asked.

"I don't know, but I think I might have just figured out where it all started," Dean responded and got up from his bed, taking his drawing with him.

* * *

They hit up the music store to visit Craig again. They found him sitting by the counter. He seemed sadder than the last time they had seen him.

"Hey, Craig? Remember us?" Dean asked as he approached the counter, Sam and Hayley not far behind him.

"Guys, look I'm really not in the mood to answer any of your questions, okay?" Craig said.

"Oh, don't worry. We're just here to buy an album, that's all," Dean said nonchalantly as he flicked through a couple of records before picking up an album. "You know I couldn't figure out what that symbol was and then I realized that it doesn't mean anything. It's the logo for the Blue Oyster Cult."

He walked up to Craig at the counter, who looked more than a little uncomfortable now. "Tell me Craig, you, uh, you into BOC? Or just scaring the hell outta people? Now why don't you tell us about that house – without lying through your ass this time."

Craig took a deep breath. "All right, uhm, my cousin Dana was on break from TCU. Ah, I guess we were just bored, looking for something to do. So I showed her this abandoned dump I found. We thought it would be funny if we made it look like it was haunted. So we painted symbols on the walls, some from some albums, some from some of Dana's theology textbooks. Then we found out this guy Murdock used to live there so we…we made up some story to go along with that. So they told people, who told other people. And then these two guys put it on their stupid website. Everything just took on a life of its own. I mean I, I thought it was funny at first, but now that girl's dead! It was just a joke, you know. I mean, none of it was real, we made the whole thing up. I swear!"

"All right," Sam said kindly and looked at Hayley and Dean before the three left the store.

"If none of it was real how the hell do you explain Mordechai?" Dean asked puzzled.

* * *

Back at the motel, Sam was taking a shower while Hayley was doing research on her laptop. This case was bugging her now too. She wasn't familiar with the world of supernatural, so she turned to her save hafen instead – the internet. It always had provided her with answers before.

She was so focused on her screen, she hadn't even noticed the newest scheme Dean was up to. She glanced over to him as he was standing at the foot of Sam's bed and fumbling around with his clothes. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked him and he jumped up.

"Nothing." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Are you putting itching powder in Sam's clothes?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Shhh, okay, yeah. Just be quiet and play along," he told her.

"Sure." She giggled. "So, I think I might have a theory about what's going on," she said and Dean raised a brow.

"Oh, yeah?"

"What if Mordechai is a Tulpa?" Hayley suggested as Dean swirled through the room, still trying to hide all the evidence from his prank.

"Tulpa?" He asked, thinking about her theory. He hadn't heard of anything like that before.

"Yeah, a Tibetan thought form," she explained.

"Yeah, I know what a Tulpa is," he affirmed her conceitedly before knocking on the bathroom door. "Hey Sam, get dressed! I wanna go grab something to eat."

He smiled broadly all the way as Sam got dressed.

* * *

They decided to grab some burgers and coffee at the local diner. The brothers had settled themselves at a small table as Hayley walked over with their coffees. Sam was still trying to adjust himself as the powder worked its magic. Dean helped her with the coffees, placing one each in front of Sam and him.

Hayley took out her laptop and pulled up the site she had found earlier. While the page was loading, she grabbed the six packs of sugar and poured them into her coffee.

"You taking any coffee with all that sugar?" He gave her a look.

"Yeah, quadruple espresso to be exact," she said, avoiding to look at him. She knew Dean was only trying to provoke her and she'd be damned if she would let him.

"Oh, _good_. Because you need even more energy," he said sarcastically before looking at Sam, who was still scratching away at his jeans. "Dude what's your problem?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," Sam assured his older brother.

"So, uh, all right. What about these Tulpas, Hayley?" Dean asked and looked at her. He could see she was in geek mode again. Her eyes were focused on the screen, the lights of the display mirroring in her glasses, as she sipped thoughtfully on her coffee.

"There was this incident in Tibet in 1915. Group of monks visualized a golem in their head. The meditated on it so hard, they brought the thing to life. Outta thin air," she explained and looked at the boys.

"So?" Dean threw her a puzzled look.

"That was only 20 monks. Imagine what 10,000 web surfers could do. I mean, this Craig kid starts the story about Mordechai, then it spreads, goes online. Now there are countless people all over the world believing in this bastard," she said.

"Now, wait a second. Are you trying to tell me that just because people believe in Mordechai, he's real?" Dean looked at her incredulously.

"I don't know. It could be," she said defensively of her theory. Sam shifted back and forth in his seat as he looked through the research on Hayley's computer.

"People believe in Santa Claus. How come I'm not getting hooked up every Christmas?" Dean mocked her, trying not to glance at Sam.

"'Cause you're a bad person. And because of this," Sam said and turned the laptop around to Dean. It showed a photo of one of the Hell House symbols that had been tagged on the walls.

"That's a Tibetan spirit sigil. On the wall of the house. Craig said they were painting symbols from a theology textbook. I bet they painted this, not even knowing what it was. Now that sigil has been used for centuries, concentrating meditative thoughts like a magnifying glass. So people are on the HellHounds website, staring at the symbol, thinking about Mordechai…I mean I don't know, but it might be enough to bring a Tulpa to life," Sam said, siding with Hayley. He grimaced and scratched his jeans again, trying to adjust to a more comfortable position.

"It would explain why he keeps changing," Dean added.

"Right, as the legend changes, people think different things, so Mordechai himself changes," Hayley established.

"Like a game of telephone. That would also explain why the rock salt didn't work," Sam mused.

"Yeah, because he's not a traditional spirit," she concluded.

"Looks like the geek squad was busy," Dean joked and snickered. They shot him a dirty look and Dean cleared his throat at their death stare. "Okay, so why don't we just, uh, get this spirit sigil thingy off the wall and off the website?" He asked.

"Well, it's not that simple. You see, once Tulpas are created, they take on a life of their own," she explained.

"Great. So if he really is a thought form how the hell are we supposed to kill an idea?" Dean asked. He was getting frustrated again. He looked over at Sam, who was still desperately trying to adjust himself.

"Well, it's not gonna be easy with these guys helping us. Check out their home page," Sam said and showed them the Hell Hounds site again. They had posted the video from last night online.

"Since they've posted the video, their number of hits have quadrupled in the last day alone," Sam said.

"Huh. I got an idea. Come on," Dean said and sprung up from his seat.

"Where we going?" Hayley asked him as she gathered her things.

"We gotta find a copy store," he explained, still not making any sense.

Sam rose up from his seat as well, jiggling and scratching away. "Man, I think I'm allergic to our soap or something," he lamented. Dean burst into laughter as they headed for the door.

"You did this?" Sam asked and looked furiously at Dean, who just continued laughing at his little brother.

"You're a frigging jerk!" Sam proclaimed.

"Oh yeah," he admitted with a big grin. Hayley shook her head at them with a smile.

* * *

After the copy store, they stopped by the trailer park where Ed and Harry were set up. Dean looked at Hayley and Sam with a wide grin on his face before he pounded against the door. They heard all sorts of different noises coming from the trailer.

"Who is it?" Ed's voice echoed from inside.

"Come on out here guys, we hear you in there," Dean said like a big bad wolf waiting for the two little piggies to come out.

They heard more noises and then the trailer door opened and the two stuck out their heads carefully.

"Ah, would you look at that! Action figures in their original packaging – shocker," Hayley muttered under her breath. Dean chuckled, but Sam shot her a look.

"Guys, we need to talk," Sam said.

"Yeah, uhm, sorry guys. We're, uh, a little bit busy right now," Ed replied. Hayley sighed. She could tell that these two yahoos were high as fuck right now.

"Okay, well, we'll make it quick. We need you to shut down your website," Dean said, but Ed just laughed at him.

"Man, you know, these guys got us busted last night, spent the night in a holding cell…," he explained.

"I had to pee in that cell urinal. In front of people. And I get stage fright," Harry chimed in, seemingly shivering at having to relive that memory. The three of them had to suppress their laughter.

"Why should we trust you guys?" Ed asked. Hayley stepped in front of the brothers and put on her puppy dog eyes.

"Look guys, we all know what we saw last night, what's in that house. But now thanks to your website, there are thousands of people hearing about Mordechai," she explained, trying to appeal to their good side.

"That's right. Which means people are gonna keep showing up at the Hell House, running into him in person, somebody could get hurt," Dean said.

"Yeah, yeah…," Ed said, weighing his decision.

"Ed, maybe he's got a point, maybe…," Harry started to say but was immediately interrupted by Ed.

"Nope," Ed replied stubbornly, shaking his head.

"No," Harry answered, following his friend's lead.

"We have an obligation to our fans, to the truth," Ed said almost patriotically.

"Well, I have an obligation to kick both your little asses right now," Dean barked at them.

"Dean, Dean, hey, hey, just, forget it, all right?" Hayley said, gripping his arm. He looked at her. "These guys…probably bitch slap them both, I could probably even tell them that thing about Mordechai. But they're still not gonna help us. Let's just go," she said, gesturing the boys to the Impala.

"Whoa, whoa," Ed and Harry said.

Dean looked at them for a moment before turning to her again. "Yeah, you're right," he said and they turned to leave, Ed and Harry tailing them.

"What you say about…?" Ed said and tried to run in front of Hayley.

"Hang on a second here," Harry told her, looking at her anxiously. She didn't stop though and neither did the brothers, completely ignoring them.

"Wait, wait," Ed called after them.

"What thing about Mordechai you guys?" Harry asked. Hayley sighed deeply and stopped.

"Don't tell 'em, Hayley," Dean warned her.

"But if they agree to shut the website down, Dean. We could save lives here," she argued, pouting at him.

"They're not going to do it, you said so yourself," he reminded her. She frowned.

"No, wait. Wait. Don't listen to him, okay? We'll do it. We'll do it," Ed said.

"It's a secret, Hayley," Dean said, grabbing her arm like she had done before and looked at her. She glanced over to Ed and Harry before throwing Dean a defiant look. He scowled at her.

"Look, it's a really big deal, all right. And it wasn't easy to dig up. So only if we have your word that you'll shut everything down," she said and the two guys nodded excitedly.

"Totally," Ed swore.

"All right," Dean said and handed them some files.

"It's a death certificate. From the '30s. We got it at the library. Now according to the coroner, the actual cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound," Sam explained.

"That's right he didn't hang or cut himself," Dean said with a proud smile.

"He shot himself?" Ed asked.

"Yep. With a .45 pistol. To this day they say he's terrified of them," Hayley said.

"Matter of fact, they say if you shoot him with a .45, loaded with these special wrought-iron rounds – it'll kill the son of a bitch," Dean said as Ed and Harry giggled delightedly. Harry immediately bolted and raced back to their trailer. Ed, on the other hand, decided a slow backwards walk was less obvious.

"Harry! Slow your roll buddy. They're gonna know we're excited," Ed called after Harry and started running then too.

Hayley looked at the brothers and smiled. "Nice job."

* * *

She had convinced the boys to wait it out at a local café until Hell Hounds Lair. com was updated again. She needed food – a _lot_ of it, and coffee. She was sitting at her laptop next to Sam, Dean sitting across from her. She was trying to get some work done in the meantime. She had a real day job after all.

Sam was reading the paper as Dean kept pulling the string to a figure of a fisherman holding a big fish on the wall and every time he would pull that cord, it would let out a horrible laugh like that of an old witch in movies. Sam was already pretty annoyed by now, giving Dean his death stare before returning to his paper. He couldn't even finish a whole sentence until his brother pulled the string again.

Sam pulled on the cord to stop it, glaring at Dean. "If you pull that string one more time, I'm gonna kill you," he menaced. But Dean just deadpanned, keeping his eyes on Sam as he pulled the string again.

"Ow!" Dean cried out after he felt a kick against his knee. Hayley glared up at him from her screen.

"Trying to work here. Some people actually earn their money with decent jobs," she grumbled.

He rolled his eyes at her before turning back to Sam with a snicker. "Come on, man, you need more laughter in your life. You know you're way too tense." Sam and Hayley both shot him a dirty look.

"Well, you two are no fun." He sighed. "They post it yet?" Hayley turned her laptop around for Dean to read. "We've learned from reputable sources that Mordechai Murdock has a fatal fear of firearms. All right. How long do we wait?"

"Long enough for the new story to spread, and the legend to change," Hayley explained.

"We figure by nightfall iron rounds will work on the sucker," Sam added, holding his beer out to Dean, who tapped it with his own with a smile.

"Sweet," he said. He knew his little brother would come around eventually. He took a long sip when Hayley started chuckling. Sam looked at her and started to grin too. Dean looked at them suspiciously, trying to put his beer down before realizing it was stuck to his hand. There was an outbreak of laughter from the two sitting across from him.

"You didn't," he said, staring at Sam.

"Oh, I did!" Sam laughed and held up the super glue for his brother to see. Dean shook his head as Sam laughingly pulled the string of the fisherman again.

* * *

By dusk, they headed back to the Hell House. Enough time should have passed by now, so they could try and kill the spirit for good. Dean had stolen the stupid fisherman from the café and Sam ran through the bushes before setting it off. He ran back to their hiding space where Dean and Hayley had been waiting for him. As soon as they saw the cops leave the house and follow their distraction, they moved in.

The brothers were immediately on alert as they entered the house, drawing their guns. Hayley still refused to carry one, although she knew it was the only thing that could stop the spirit.

"If he comes after you, you run. Understood?" Dean said, looking at her firmly. She opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. She knew there wasn't much she could do. This was all their territory. So she just nodded at him.

The boys systematically searched the house, staying back to back to each other and keeping an eye on Hayley as well, who was tightly holding on to her iron fire poker.

"I barely have any skin left on my palm," Dean told Sam caustically as he readjusted his gun.

"I'm not touching that line with a ten foot pole," Sam said with a smile. Dean shone his flashlight in Sam's face until he winced.

"You know for a doctor, you did a pretty terrible job of fixing my hand," Dean complained and looked at Hayley.

"Not a medical doctor, Dean, just a PhD," she said.

"Yeah? In what? Being annoying?"

"No, actually. Physics, chemistry and computer science, to be exact." Hayley grinned at him. He looked at her confused.

"How can you have three PhDs. You're only twenty-three." He tried to do the math in his head but there was just no way she could have done this without using super speed.

"I graduated high school with fifteen. Went straight to MIT after that," she answered.

Dean whistled. "Freak." Hayley shook his head at him and Sam chuckled before they moved into the next room.

"So you think old Mordechai's home?" Dean asked and looked back at Hayley.

"I don't know," she replied.

"Me either," a voice said from behind them. Hayley spun around and hit it with her poker before she realized she just had hit Ed in the groin with it. Sam and Dean had spun around as well and had their guns pointed at them before letting them drop and cracking into laughter.

"Sorry," she said before looking at the poker at her hand and then back to the brothers. "But pretty solid hit, though, right?" She smiled and Dean winked at her, giving her a thumbs up.

"What are you trying to do, get yourself killed?" Sam asked the two idiots as soon as the laughter had died down again.

"We're just trying to get a book and movie deal, okay?" Ed said, catching his breath as he was still in pain. Dean rolled his eyes at them.

They were immediately back on alert as they heard noises coming from the basement. It sounded like knives being sharpened. Hayley shivered at the thought of a psychopathic thought form with sharp knives.

"Oh crap," Ed muttered her exact thoughts.

Sam and Dean towered over her, building a wall around her to protect her. Ed and Harry crowded in close behind her, holding up their camera. Hayley shot them a sharp look.

"Uh, guys, you wanna…you wanna open that door for us?" Ed asked cowardly behind Sam's back.

"Why don't you?" Dean challenged him.

Their argument was deemed unnecessary as Mordechai burst through the door himself. He was holding his axe and screaming. The brothers emptied their gun chambers at the apparition. It wavered until it disappeared into mist again.

They waited a moment and then the brothers checked out the other rooms to make sure it was gone. Hayley stayed with the Hell Hounds guys to keep an eye on them.

"Oh God. He's gone. He's gone," Ed cried out relieved.

"Did you get him?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, they got him," Ed replied, but Harry shook his head at his friend.

"No, on camera, did you get him on camera?" Harry asked him before grabbing the camera. "Let me see it, let me see it," he said excitedly before flipping it open. Hayley frowned at them.

Suddenly Mordechai reappeared, slamming his axe straight through the camera in Harry's hands. Harry got knocked to the ground and the spirit vanished again.

"Hey! Didn't you guys post that bullshit story we gave you?" Hayley asked them, just as Sam and Dean came running back into the room.

"Of course, we did," Ed responded.

"But then our server crashed," Harry said. Hayley sighed deeply.

"Yeah," Ed confirmed.

"So it didn't take?" Dean asked.

"No," Hayley answered for them and shot the brothers a look. They didn't have a plan B at the ready.

"So these, these guns don't work," Dean said frustrated. "Great. Any ideas, guys?" Dean looked at his brother and Hayley. They both shrugged their shoulders at him.

"We are getting outta here," Harry declared, grabbing Ed and heading for the door, running past Dean into the other room. Mordechai appeared before them and they started to run screaming into another direction, Mordechai chasing after them as they reached the front door. It didn't open.

"The power of Christ compels you, the power of Christ compels you. The power of Christ compels you!" Ed repeated useless lines from _The Exorcist_ as he sat there, crouched down on the floor.

"Hey! Come and get it you ugly son of a bitch," Hayley yelled at the ghost.

Mordechai turned around, ready to attack her with his axe, just as Sam jumped in front of her. He managed to grip the axe, but Mordechai slammed him against the wall, pinning the axe to his throat.

"Get out of here, now!" Sam yelled at Hayley while Ed and Harry were already on their way out of the house.

Hayley sped out of the house and right back in, standing next to Dean.

"What are you doing? I told you to get the hell out," he growled at her. She handed him a canister with kerosene, keeping the second one for herself before splashing it all over the room. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"That's your plan?"

"Yeah, burn the whole fucking thing down, will ya?" He shrugged his shoulders and started pouring the kerosene everywhere.

"Dean!" Sam yelled from the other room.

Dean looked at Hayley worriedly. "Go! I'll finish it." He didn't move. "I'll be fine, just go!" She ordered him and he finally ran into the other room.

Sam was pinned to the wall with Mordechai's axe. Dean held up a spray bottle, lighting the gas as a cloud of fire shot at the ghost.

"Go, go, go!" He shouted as Sam ran past him. Dean followed, pulling Sam towards the exit.

"Mordechai can't leave the house, we can't kill him – we improvise," Dean said as he held up his lighter and threw it into the room before running outside.

"That's your solution? Burn the whole damn place to the ground?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow at his brother.

"Well, wasn't really my idea. It was Hay-," he started to say, looking around for the speedster. "Where is she? Have you seen her get out?" He asked Sam concerned. He was about to run back into the house as it exploded, flames bursting out the windows. Sam and Dean looked in horror at the burning house.

"Hey, guys," a familiar chipper voice sounded behind them. Dean frowned and turned around.

"Where the hell were you? We thought you went kaboom in there," he barked at her.

"I was just…getting food?" She looked down at the brown paper bag in her hands. "All that running made me kinda hungry." Dean scowled at her. Sam chuckled.

"So you think it works?" Sam asked, gesturing to the Hell House.

"Nobody will go in, anymore. I mean look, Mordechai can't haunt a house if there's no house to haunt. It's fast and dirty, but it works," Dean said.

"Which is just the way I like it." Hayley smirked and they laughed.

"Well, what if the legend changes again and Mordechai is allowed to leave the house?" Sam asked.

"Well…well then we'll just have to come back," Dean said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"Kinda makes you wonder. Of all the things you guys hunted, how many existed just because people believed in them," Hayley said and the boys looked at her thoughtfully before they returned their gaze to the house, watching it burn to the ground and Mordechai with it.

* * *

The three decided to make one last stop by the trailer park and check on the two wannabe ghost busters. They sat at a picnic table when Ed and Harry approached them, carrying several grocery bags. _Munchies_ , Hayley thought and smiled as she remembered her cravings back in college.

"Gentlemen, and _lady_ ," Ed greeted them, winking at Hayley. She had to hand it to him – he was persistent.

"Hey guys," Sam said and smiled at them.

"Should we tell 'em?" Harry asked, turning to look at his partner.

"Hey, might as well, you know, they're going to read about it in the trades," Ed said.

"So this morning, we got a phone call from a very important Hollywood producer," Harry told them smugly.

"Oh yeah, wrong number?" Dean quipped.

"No, smart-ass. He read all about the Hell House on our website and wants to option the motion picture rights. Maybe even have us write it," Ed said while placing their grocery bags in a completely overloaded small car.

"And create the RPG," Harry added.

"The what?" Dean asked confused.

"Role playing game," Ed and Hayley answered at the same time and Dean raised his eyebrow at Hayley.

"Right," Dean said and smirked.

"A little lingo for you. Anywho, uh, excuse us, we're off to la-la land," Ed said as he finished loading the car.

"Well, congratulations guys. That sounds really great," Sam said almost sincerely.

"Yeah. That's awesome, best of luck to you," Dean said, sounding less sincere than his brother.

"Oh yeah, luck. That has nothing to do with it. It's about talent. Sheer unabashed talent," Ed said and Hayley snickered. "Later." They waved at them as they got into their car and drove off.

"Wow," Dean said, watching them leave.

"I have a confession to make," Hayley said and looked at the boys, biting her lower lip with a smile.

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"Well, let's just say I had a friend call them and tell them he's a producer," she confessed with a broad grin. Sam and Dean threw their heads back, laughing.

"Yeah, well, we're the ones who put the dead fish in their back seat," Dean said and the brothers grinned at her.

"Looks like you two finally worked together on the pranking, huh?" She smiled at them and they shared a look.

"Truce?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, truce," Dean accepted. "At least for the next 100 miles," he said with a chuckle, opening the door of the Impala.

"Great, where are we going?" Hayley asked as she trailed closely behind Dean. He slammed the door shut again and spun around to look at her. She didn't expect him to stop and ran straight into him.

"You're not coming," he told her steadfastly.

"Dean…," Sam started to say and was instantly cut off.

"Go, wait in the car, Sam," he ordered his little brother. Sam opened his mouth to argue, but Dean didn't even let him get a word out. "Get in the car, Sam!" He frowned at Dean but eventually opened the door and sat in the car with a pout.

"You're being ridiculous. I can help you! Why won't you let me?" She frowned at him.

"Why do you even want to, huh? It sucks!"

"Because since I know what's out there, I can't just go back and pretend everything's sunshine and rainbows. I wanna help people. I mean, don't you get that?" She looked at him persuasively. He avoided her eyes. Whatever she was doing to him, she was damn good at it. He had a feeling she was used to getting what she wanted this way.

"I do get it," he said, almost giving in to her stare. And he _did_ get it. It was the same reason why he could never leave this life and why he always was so frustrated with Sam – because Sam never had a problem with turning his back on what's really out there.

"I'm tired of running, Dean. Please let me do this," she pleaded with him.

"No." He remained stern.

"Oh, c'mon! Give me one good reason," she said, rolling her eyes and defiantly crossing her arms.

"One reason? I'll give you a thousand! But for starters, you're too emotional. I saw how you looked at that dead girl. You can't let that get to you. Stuff like that happens almost every single day."

"So? I care, sue me," she retorted.

"You're inexperienced," Dean argued.

"I learn _fast_ ," Hayley countered.

"You could get hurt."

"I heal fast," she replied through gritted teeth as they unwillingly entered into a staring contest that seemed to be lasting for minutes.

"You're not gonna change my mind, Speedy. Point is, you're not a hunter or a hero – you're just a random girl that got struck by lightning. Now get your ass back home before you get us all killed," he growled at her. She narrowed her eyes at him and silently turned around. And then she was gone.

Dean got into the Impala, where Sam was waiting for him with his death stare.

"That was little harsh, Dean, don't you think? She was helping us…," Sam said, but Dean ignored him, starting the engine and turning the volume up as Blue Oyster Cult drained from the speakers, drowning out his little brother's voice as they hit the road again.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

Thanks for reading, guys! I even have a song for this chapter! _Dog Days Are Over_ by Florence + The Machine. I won't always find one but when I do I'll make sure to post it ;)

This chapter was a little hard to write. I hope I can give Hayley and Sam more screen time soon. Dean was right after all - they're the geek squad. Next up is "Something Wicked"!

I will also add an extra chapter at the end of season 1 to push some of Hayley's story forward :)


	4. Chapter 4: Something Wicked (18)

_I'm not tryna go against you_  
 _Actually, I'm going with you_

 _Gotta get up out of here_  
 _And you ain't leaving me behind_  
 _I know you won't, cause we share common interests_  
 _You need me, there ain't no leaving me behind_  
 _Never, no, no, just want out of here_  
 _Yeah, once we're gone, ain't no going back_

 _There ain't nothing here for me anymore_  
 _I don't wanna be alone_

 _Desperado_ by **Rihanna**

* * *

 **4\. Something Wicked (SPN 1.18)**

The brothers were at a bar near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dean had needed a break from driving the last few days and even Sam was happy to get a few hours outside of the Impala, so he obliged when Dean suggested to hit the next bar.

Dean had been busy talking to a black haired girl all night long at the bar. When he finally got her number, he walked over to his brother, who was sitting alone at a table across the room.

"Yeah, so when you find the bones, just salt and burn 'em and you should be good," Sam said into his phone as Dean sat down next to him, placing his beer bottle on the table. He waved at his little brother for attention, but Sam just held out his pointer finger at him, telling him to wait.

"Alright, see you soon," Sam said with a smile and hung up.

"Hunter needing some help?" Dean asked with a chuckle.

"Something like that, yeah," Sam replied with a guilty look in his brown eyes. Dean narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him before Sam spun around and looked expectantly at the door.

Dean followed his brother's gaze and frowned when a young brunette woman entered the bar with a big smile. Sam smiled back at her as he got up from their table and gave her a hug. They strolled back over to Dean, chatting excitedly.

"You've been hunting on your own?!" Dean interrupted their chit-chatting angrily. They stopped smiling and shot him a look.

"Well, you didn't wanna take me with you, so yeah, obviously," she said casually, but Dean could see the rebellious look in her eyes.

"So what, you have a death wish now? Is that it?" He looked at her with fiery eyes.

"Dean, relax. I just gave her easy cases. You know, ghosts were the bones weren't cremated…," Sam jumped in.

"You've been sending her hunting?" He moved his glare from Hayley to Sam, who rolled his eyes back.

"Look, I told you I wanted to learn and help save people. You think you telling me I can't, is gonna stop me? Think again, Winchester," she said and crossed her arms with a cocky smile. He raised an eyebrow at her and was getting ready for his next argument, when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

"Did you bring your laptop with you?" He suddenly asked her as he read the message he had just received. Hayley looked hesitantly at Sam, who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Suuure," she answered before pulling out her laptop from her bag and sliding it over to Dean.

"What's up?" Sam asked his older brother as he leaned in a little closer to look at the screen.

"Dad has sent us coordinates again. Looks like we're going to Fitchburg, Wisconsin," he said as he finished his beer and grabbed his jacket.

"Great, I'll meet you guys there," Hayley said as she jumped up from her chair.

"Whoa, whoa," Dean said, towering in front of her. "You wanna hunt? Fine, then let's go hunt. But you're not goin' to run everywhere we go." She looked up at him carefully, raising an eyebrow.

"That's kinda the way I get around, Dean," she replied, trying to squeeze past him. He blocked her with his arm and stared at her.

"Not if you wanna be a hunter. If you wanna do this, you ride in the car like a normal person," he said determinedly. She narrowed her blue eyes at him.

"Fine, let's go then," she said and smiled cheekily at him before pushing past him and heading for the door.

* * *

"Yeah, you probably missed something, that's what," Dean said as they were driving down a country road in Wisconsin. They had almost reached Fitchburg and he had to admit that the eleven hour drive hadn't been as bad as he thought it would be with Hayley in the car. In fact, she had been pretty much dead asleep on the backseat for the last eight hours.

"Dude, I ran LexisNexis, local police reports, newspapers, I couldn't find a single red flag. Are you sure you got the coordinates right?" Sam asked his brother.

"Yeah, I double checked. It's Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important, Sammy," Dean told him for what felt like the thousandth time on this drive. Sam sighed frustrated.

"Well, I'm telling you I looked and all I could find was a big steamy pile of nothing. If Dad's sending us hunting for something I don't know what."

"Well, maybe he's going to meet us there," Dean suggested hopefully but that only earned him a sharp look from Sam.

"Yeah. 'Cause he's been so easy to find up to this point," Sam muttered.

"You're a real smart ass you know that?" Dean glared at him, but decided it wasn't worth the fight. "Don't worry I'm sure there's something in Fitchburg worth killing."

"Yeah? What makes you so sure?" Sam asked grumpily.

"'Cause I'm the oldest, which means I'm always right," he declared.

"No, it doesn't," Sam argued.

"It totally does." He glanced over to his brother with a grin before noticing something moving in the rearview mirror. "Good morning, Speedy," he said as she stretched herself yawningly in the backseat.

"Are you guys fighting again?" She asked, still half-asleep.

"No," they answered simultaneously before sharing a look. She cozied up between the two front seats, resting her arms on their back rest.

"Oh-kay, then." She glanced from one brother to the other, but they just stubbornly stared straight ahead at the road. "How long have we been driving?"

"Eleven hours," Dean replied and she frowned.

"God, do you know what I could've done during that time?" She let herself fall back in her seat.

"You mean besides sleep?" He countered.

"I'm starving," she complained.

"Don't worry. We're almost the-" Lightning swished through the backseat and came back a few seconds later. "-re," he finished to say and glared back at her annoyed.

"What?" She asked innocently as she pulled out some bacon from a take-out bag.

"I thought I said no running!"

"Oh c'mon, it's bacon," she said with a smile and shifted closer to him, holding a stripe of bacon under his nose. He grabbed it defiantly.

"Fine. Food runs are allowed," he stated and Sam chortled. He glanced over at his brother. "What?"

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" Sam told him with an amused smile.

"Yeah, I know," he replied smugly and grinned. Hayley shook her head at him with a smile as they drove past the town sign of Fitchburg, Wisconsin – population 20,501.

* * *

 **Fitchburg, Wisconsin**

Sam was leaning against the Impala, watching a playground near the local school as Dean and Hayley came back from their coffee run. They crossed the street and Hayley handed him a takeaway coffee cup while sipping from her own.

"Well, the waitress thinks the local freemasons are up to something sneaky, but other than that no one's heard about anything freaky going on," Dean said, leaning against the Impala as well.

"Any of you got the time?" Sam asked, still staring straight ahead.

"Ten after Four. Why?" Hayley responded.

"What's wrong with this picture?" Sam asked, indicating ahead. Hayley and Dean followed his gaze.

"Where are all the children?" She asked as she stared at a deserted playground.

"School's out, isn't it?" Dean asked, looking around. Except for a few kids, it was practically a wasteland.

"Yeah. So where is everybody? This place should be crawling with kids right now," Sam pondered.

Dean looked over to a woman sitting on a park bench at the playground and reading a magazine. He walked over to her while Sam and Hayley were discussing their different theories.

"Sure is quiet out here," Dean mused as he approached the young dark haired woman.

"Yeah, it's a shame," she said and looked up at him.

"Why's that?"

"You know, kids getting sick, it's a terrible thing," she replied and glanced over to the remaining children at the playground.

"How many?" He asked, looking at her.

"Just five or six. But serious, hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious. They think it's catching," she told him. He nodded and then followed her gaze to a little girl playing by herself. He knew there was something to hunt in this town.

* * *

The three of them decided to check out the hospital next. They were all dressed in business – the boys in suits and Hayley in her usual work attire. Dean had even made her wear her glasses.

"Is this really necessary?" She asked them as she trailed behind the brothers.

"Look, you know more about science and medical stuff, so it's easier for you than for us," Sam explained. He had walked her through the last couple of hunting jobs too. He enjoyed being the teacher for once, unlike when he hunted with his father or brother.

"Besides, you said you wanted to be a hunter. That's part of the job description," Dean provoked her with a smile. His new strategy seemed to be working – it would only be a matter of time before she gave up.

"Yeah, but I kinda feel uncomfortable about lying to authorities. You know that people get arrested for identity theft, right?" She stopped walking and looked a little panicked all of a sudden.

Dean turned around and looked at her. "Yeah, but technically you're not using a fake ID," he replied with a grin before he started walking again, Hayley moving with him.

"Yeah, about that – I'm sure as hell not gonna use an ID that says bikini inspector on it," she said and Dean laughed.

"Don't worry. She won't look that close, all right? Hell, she won't even ask to see it. It's all about confidence, Speedy," he said as he looked at the nurse sitting at the counter and back over to her. "Now, you wanna be a hunter or not?" He asked her with a self-satisfied grin and held out the fake ID for her.

"Fine," she said and grabbed the ID from his hand. "Bikini inspector is still better than Agents Metallica." Sam chuckled and Dean frowned at her.

She glanced back over to the nurse and let out a deep breath before walking over to the desk. "Hi, I'm Dr. Hannah West, Centers for Disease Control," she introduced herself with a confident smile. The receptionist looked up at her. She seemed already annoyed.

"Can I see some ID?" The nurse asked her. She heard Sam and Dean snigger in the corridor behind her and shot them a dirty look before turning her attention back to the nurse.

"Yeah, sure," she said and quickly flashed her ID to the receptionist, holding her thumb over the name of it. "Could you direct me to the pediatrics ward, please?" She quickly changed the subject.

"Okay well, just go down that hall, turn left and up the stairs," she replied and Hayley nodded thankfully at her before walking back to the brothers.

"See, I told you it would work," Dean said with a wide grin. She narrowed her eyes at him and headed upstairs without further comment.

* * *

The brothers had caught up with her upstairs, walking down the corridor to the pediatrics ward. Dean stopped and looked into an open room where an old woman was sitting in a wheelchair. He got goosebumps by just looking at her when suddenly she turned her head around and stared at him. _Not creepy at all_ , he thought and glanced over to an inverted cross hanging on her wall. He frowned and followed Sam and Hayley, who had been waiting at the end of the hall for him.

Once they reached pediatrics, they were redirected to a Dr. Hydecker, the doctor in charge of all the recent sick children. They walked with him down the hospital corridors.

"Well, thanks for seeing us, Dr. Hydecker," Hayley said.

"Well, I'm glad you guys are here. I was just about to call CDC myself. How'd you find out anyways?" The doctor asked them and Hayley tentatively looked over to Dean.

"Oh, some GP, I forget his name, he called Atlanta and, uh, he must've beat you to the punch," Dean quickly explained.

"So, you say you got six cases so far?" Sam chimed in.

"Yeah, five weeks. At first, we thought it was garden variety bacterial pneumonia. Not that newsworthy. But now…," Dr. Hydecker stopped in front of a containment center filled with sick children in hospital beds. He looked at them.

"Now what?" Sam asked.

"The kids aren't responding to antibiotics. Their white cell counts keep going down. Their immune systems just aren't doing their job. It's like their bodies are…"

"…wearing out," Hayley finished his sentence and the doctor nodded, looking at her.

"Excuse me, Dr. Hyecker," a nurse said as she approached the group. She handed Dr. Hydecker some forms to sign.

"You ever seen anything like this before?" Sam asked, glancing over to the children.

"Never this severe," he answered.

"And the way it spreads…that's a new one for me," the nurse suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" Hayley asked, looking at her.

"It works its way through families. But only the children, one sibling after another," she replied.

"You mind if we interview a few of the kids?" Dean asked her.

"They're not conscious," she said sadly. Dean swallowed hard as he looked over to the kids.

"None of them?" Sam asked.

"No," she responded and Dean's gut feeling only got worse.

"Can we, uh, can we talk to the parents?" Dean asked, looking at the doctor.

"Well, if you think it'll help," Dr. Hydecker said.

He nodded. "Yeah. Who was your most recent admission?"

* * *

The three approached a man in the hospital's waiting room. He was sitting on a chair against the wall and was the father of two girls who had recently gotten pneumonia and were in a coma now.

"Now you say Mary is the oldest?" Sam asked him.

"Thirteen," the father replied.

"Okay. And she came down with it first, right? And then…," Sam asked and looked at the man. He had a sad and hopeless look in his eyes.

"Bethany, the next night," he answered.

"Within 24 hours?" Sam asked. The father looked up at them.

"I guess. Look, I, uh, I already went through all this with the doctor," he said, seemingly frustrated with their interview and wanting to get back to his daughters.

"Just a few more questions if you don't mind. How do you think they caught pneumonia? Were they out in the cold, anything like that?" Dean jumped in. Hayley looked at him. He had been oddly persistent with this case, unlike the last one.

"No. We think it was an open window," the father explained.

"Both times?" Dean asked.

"The first time, I, I don't really remember, but the second time for sure. And I know I closed it before I put Bethany to bed," he told them.

"So you think she opened it?" Hayley asked him. She had been mostly standing behind the two brothers, watching them and listening to their conversation.

"It's a second story window with a ledge. No one else could've," the father said and Hayley and the boys shared a look.

* * *

They left the hospital and drove straight to the two girls' house. The parents were at the hospital, so they were sure to find it empty. They broke in by the back door and went to Bethany's bedroom, the last daughter that had gotten sick.

Sam had pulled out his EMF meter and swept the room while the others looked around for anything out of the ordinary.

"You know this might not be anything supernatural. It might just be pneumonia," Sam said as he walked around the room.

"Maybe. Or maybe something opened that window. I don't know man, look, Dad sent us down here for a reason. I think we might be barking up the right tree," Dean said as he looked around the room for clues. He still couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong with this case.

"You're quiet," Dean stated after a while and looked over at Hayley. He was almost used to her by now being a pain in his ass.

She shrugged her shoulders at him. "You got anything yet?" She asked and looked over at Sam.

"No, nothing," Dean replied, but Hayley walked over to Sam at the window and Dean followed shortly to see what they were looking at.

"You were right. It's not pneumonia," Sam said and looked down at a black handprint on the wooden windowsill. It wasn't a usual handprint though – it had long claw-like fingers that reminded Hayley of the Daevas'.

"It's rotted. What the hell leaves a handprint like that?" Sam asked, looking at them.

Dean stood there quietly for a moment, his eyes focused on the rotted handprint. "I know why Dad sent us here. He's faced this thing before. He wants us to finish the job," he said and they both looked at him confused. What he didn't tell them was that not his father had failed, but he had.

* * *

 _ **Flashback, 17 years ago**_

His father had left a photo on the bed. Dean walked over to look at a handprint rotted into a windowsill. He dropped it as soon as his father walked out of the other bedroom of their motel room. He carried a sawn off shotgun and loaded it.

"All right. You know the drill, Dean. Anybody calls, you don't pick up. If it's me, I'll ring once, then call back. You got that?" He looked at his oldest son.

"Mm-hmm. Only answer the phone unless it rings once first," Dean repeated his father's teachings like he had done so many times before.

"Come on, dude, look alive. This stuff is important," he told him with a frown.

"I know, it's just…we've gone over it like a million times and you know I'm not stupid," Dean pointed out with a deep sigh.

"I know you're not, but it only takes one mistake, you got that?" John said as he started gathering his things together and putting them in a duffel bag. "All right, if I'm not back Sunday night…?" He asked and looked at his son.

"Call Pastor Jim," Dean answered with a frown.

"Lock the doors, the windows, close the shades. Most important…"

"Watch out for Sammy," Dean finished his father's sentence. It was the most obvious one. They looked over at little Sam plastered in front of the TV and watching cartoons absentmindedly. " _I know_." He frowned at his father.

"All right. If something tries to bust in?" John asked.

"Shoot first, ask questions later," Dean replied and John smiled at him as he patted him on the shoulder.

"That's my man."

* * *

It was already dark outside when they finally found a motel in town. On the ride, Dean had told them about the thing they were dealing with and of course, his little brother had many questions.

"So what the hell is a shtriga?" Sam asked as they got out of the car.

"It's kinda like a witch, I think. I don't know much about 'em," Dean answered quickly. Hayley threw him a look.

"Well, I've never heard of it. And it's not in Dad's journal," Sam pointed out confused.

"Dad hunted one in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin, about 16, 17 years ago. You were there. You don't remember?" Dean asked casually, glancing over at his brother.

"No," Sam replied frustrated.

"And I guess he caught wind of the things in Fitchburg now and kicked us the coordinates," Dean explained. He hoped Sam would stop throwing questions at him eventually. But his little brother had always been persistent.

"So wait, this…," Sam started to say but forgot the word again.

"Shtriga," Hayley helped him out. The brothers shot her a look – she really had been unusually quiet.

"Right. You think it's the same one Dad hunted before?" Sam raised an eyebrow at his older brother. He knew by now that Dean was hiding something from him.

"Yeah, maybe." Dean shrugged his shoulders.

"But if Dad went after it, why is it still breathing air?"

"'Cause it got away."

"Got away?"

"Yeah, Sammy it happens," Dean replied, getting frustrated. Hayley was surprised it even took him this long.

"Not very often," Sam mumbled. Dean rolled his eyes annoyed at him.

"Well I don't know what to tell you, maybe Dad didn't have his wheaties that morning," Dean snapped as he rummaged through the car trunk.

"What else do you remember?" Sam kept pushing.

"Nothin'. I was a kid, all right?" Dean replied defensively as he shut the trunk closed and walked right over to the motel reception office, leaving Sam and Hayley outside. He rang the bell and an eleven-year-old boy walked out from a back room where his younger brother sat in front of a TV.

"A king or two queens?" The boy asked him.

"Two queens," Dean replied as he glanced back at Sam and Hayley talking outside.

"Yeah I'll bet," the kid muttered under his breath with a chuckle as he looked over at the two strangers outside.

"What'd you say?" Dean raised his brows at him.

"Nice car!" The boy replied with grin as his mother entered, smiling at her son and their guest.

"Hi. Checking in?" She asked, looking at Dean. He nodded. "Uh, do me a favor, go get your brother some dinner," she said, turning to her son.

"I'm helping a guest!" He argued but his mother gave him a sharp look and he grimaced before heading into the back room again. "Two _queens_ ," he mumbled to his mother on his way.

"Funny kid," Dean said with a fake laugh.

"Oh, yeah. He thinks so." She giggled. "Will that be cash or credit?"

"You take MasterCard?" She nodded with a smile. "Perfect. Here you go," he said as he handed her over one of his fake credit cards. His eyes wandered over to the two brothers in the back room again. He watched as the older one poured a glass of milk for his younger sibling. It reminded him of the many times he had to make dinner for Sam while their dad had been away. He would do anything for his little brother – nothing would ever change about that.

"Sir?" He realized he had gotten lost in his memories and looked confused at the woman before taking back his card.

* * *

They were cooped up in their motel room. Hayley was wearing headphones and working on some cases Joe had sent her. He had marked them _urgent_ in his email and she knew Singh had probably threatened to fire her again.

Sam had been sitting on his bed, doing research on his laptop while Dean had been delving through their arsenal to find something that would kill this thing.

"Well, you were right," Sam said with a chuckle. "It wasn't very easy to find, but you were right. Shtriga is a kind of witch. They're Albanian, but legends about them trace back to Ancient Rome. They feed off spiritus vitae," Sam explained as he read from the website he had found.

"Spiri-what?" Dean asked confused.

"Vitae. It's Latin, translates to 'breath of life'. Kinda like your life force or essence," Hayley answered from across the room, her eyes still glued to the screen. He looked at her. At least, she was good at multitasking.

"Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearing out?" He asked, turning to Sam again.

"It's a thought. You know she takes your vitality, maybe your immunity goes to hell, pneumonia takes hold. Anyway, shtrigas can feed off anyone but they prefer…" Sam said.

"Children," Hayley and Dean finished Sam's sentence.

"Yeah. Probably because they have stronger life force. And get this. Shtrigas are 'invulnerable to all weapons devised by God and man'," he continued reading from the website.

"No, that's not right. She's vulnerable when she feeds," Dean corrected him and both Sam and Hayley stared at him now.

"What?" Sam asked him baffled.

"If you catch her when she's eating, you can blast her with consecrated wrought iron. Uh, buckshots or rounds I think," Dean explained, ignoring their stares.

"How do you know that?" Sam asked.

"Dad told me. I remember," he replied.

"Oh, huh. So uh, anything else Dad might have mentioned?" Sam raised his eyebrows at his older brother.

"Nope, that's it," he responded simply, but Sam just kept staring at him. "What?"

"Sam." Hayley threw him a warning look.

"Nothing." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Okay so, assuming we can kill it when it eats, we still gotta find the thing first, which ain't gonna be a cakewalk. Shtrigas take on a human disguise when they're not hunting," Sam said, still a little frustrated with his brother.

"What kinda human disguise?" Dean asked.

"Historically, something innocuous. Could be anything, but it's usually a feeble old woman, which might be how the witches as old crones legend got started," he explained.

"Hang on," Dean said contemplatively as he crossed the room.

"What?" Sam looked curiously at him.

"Check this out." He grabbed the map next to Hayley and folded it open on the table. "I marked down all the addresses of the victims. Now these are the houses that have been hit so far, and dead center?"

"The hospital," Hayley replied as she looked past her screen at Dean's finger on the map.

"Exactly. Now when we were there, I saw a patient, an old woman," Dean said.

"An old person, huh?" Sam raised an eyebrow at his brother amused.

"Yeah." Dean nodded.

"In a hospital? Phew." Sam shook his head mockingly and snickered. "Better call the Coast Guard." Hayley chortled and Dean threw them a dirty look.

"Well listen, smart-ass, she had an inverted cross hanging on her wall," Dean stated and they stopped laughing and looked up at him.

"That's a thing?" Hayley asked. The brothers shared a look before replying with a nod.

* * *

They went back to the hospital at night. They snuck down an empty corridor and ducked around the corner when they heard Dr. Hydecker and a nurse in the next hallway. They waited until he passed them and then continued to sneak down the hallway until they reached the old woman's room.

The boys drew their guns as they opened the door, Dean gesturing Hayley to stay back. To his surprise, she obeyed and held watch by the door frame instead.

Dean took the front, slowly approaching the woman in a wheelchair while Sam stayed behind him. She seemed to be asleep as she was facing the corner and didn't move. Dean leaned in closer and closer to her until he was almost face to cheek with the old woman.

"Who the hell are you?!" She asked, suddenly turning her head at him. He jumped to his feet, completely freaked. He fell back into a cabinet by the wall and pulled his gun at her. Hayley raised an eyebrow at him.

"Who's there? You trying to steal my stuff?" She grumbled. "They're always stealing around here."

"No!" Sam answered her as he turned on the light. "Uh, ma'am, we're maintenance. We're sorry. We thought you were sleeping."

"Uh, nonsense. I was sleeping with my peepers open," she said with a creepy laugh and then gestured to the wall. "And fix that crucifix, would ya? I've asked four damn times already!" She complained.

Dean rolled his eyes and shared a look with Sam and Hayley – who, to his annoyance, looked both slightly amused – before turning the cross back around.

* * *

The Impala pulled up to the motel parking lot and the three of them got out. Sam had been laughing the whole drive.

"'I was sleeping with my peepers open?'" He mocked Dean, who rolled his eyes at him.

"I almost smoked that old girl, I swear. It's not funny!" Dean scowled.

"Yeah, well, you almost smoked me once too," Hayley muttered with a smile and Dean threw her a look.

"Oh man, you should've seen your face," Sam said, sniggering.

"Yeah, laugh it off. Now we're back to square one," Dean murmured. His eyes wandered to the boy he had met yesterday. He looked depressed, sitting on a bench in front of the office. "Hang on," he said to Sam and Hayley as he approached the boy. "Hey what's wrong?"

"My brother's sick," the boy replied, looking up at him.

"The little guy?" Dean asked. He felt sick to his stomach.

"Pneumonia," he answered with a weak nod. "He's in the hospital. It's my fault."

"Ah, c'mon, how?" Dean asked as he leaned down to the boy.

"I should've made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't have got pneumonia if the window was latched," he explained upset. Dean glanced over to his own little brother, who watched them concerned. As did Hayley, who leaned her head against Sam's shoulder.

"Listen to me. I can promise you that this is not your fault. Okay?" Dean said, looking the boy straight in the eyes.

"It's my job to look after him," the boy replied and Dean couldn't argue with that.

His mother came hurrying out of the office and ran toward her car, carrying pillows and a teddy bear. "Michael, I want you to turn on the no vacancy sign while I'm gone. I've got Denise covering room service, so don't bother with any of the rooms," she told her son.

"I'm going with you," Michael replied stubbornly.

"Not now, Michael," she said.

"But I gotta see Asher!" He exclaimed upset.

"Hey Michael, hey," Dean cut in. "I know how you feel – I'm a big brother too – but you gotta go easy on your Mom right now, okay?" He said gently to the boy.

"Dammit!" His mother muttered as she dropped her purse in all the haste.

"I got it," Hayley said as she bent down to pick it up for her and handed it back to the young mother with a smile.

"Thank you." She smiled back weakly at her.

"Listen, you're in no condition to drive, why don't you let me give you a lift to the hospital?" Dean suggested.

"No, I couldn't possibly…" she stammered.

"No, it's no trouble. I insist," he told her and grabbed the keys. She smiled at him thankfully.

"Be good," she said, turning to her son before Dean helped her into her seat.

"We're gonna kill this thing. I want it dead, you hear me?" Dean declared angrily to Sam and Hayley before getting into the car himself.

* * *

Sam and Hayley went to the library in the meantime. She usually was glad to be part of the research team, but she couldn't concentrate – her head was just not in the game today.

Sam glanced up from the computer screen and over to her. She was sitting in front of an open book, but instead of reading she was staring absentmindedly out the window.

"I'm sure the kids are gonna be fine once we kill this thing," he said and she looked at him surprised.

"Oh, it's not that. Not that dying children isn't awful enough, of course," she stammered like an idiot.

"Are you okay?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean you've been quiet, but I figured you just wanted to get on Dean's good side for once," he said with a chuckle and she laughed.

"Please, I'm having way too much fun messing with him." She giggled. "I guess it's just wrong place, wrong time today," she said and her smile faded and was replaced with a teary-eyed look.

"Something happen?" Sam's eyes showed worry.

"It's just my mom's death's anniversary. I guess I just get a little gloomy around that time." She forced a smile and he nodded sympathetically. She had thought about it almost daily ever since she had gotten her powers and what it all meant, but this day seemed especially hard.

"Yeah, I get that…if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here. And I'm sure Dean is too," he said and smiled kindly at her. He had never known his mother like Dean had, so he didn't get as upset on her day of death as his older brother usually did. Of course, he never talked about it or her, but Sam had always known something was troubling his brother on those days.

She returned his smile and wiped away a tiny tear that had escaped her eyes before skimming through the book in front of her. She knew they had a job to do. Sam shook his head at her. _Just like Dean_ , he thought.

His phone started ringing and he picked it up. " _Hey_ ," Dean whispered on the other end.

"Hey. How's the kid?"

" _He's not good. Where you at?_ " Dean asked.

"We're at the library. I've been trying to find out as much as I can about this Shtriga."

" _Yeah, what have you got?_ "

"Well, bad news. I started with Fort Douglas around the time you said Dad was there," Sam said.

" _Yeah?"_

"Same deal. Before that, there was, uh, Ogdenville, before that North Haverbrook, and Brockway. Every 15 to 20 years it hits a new town. Dean, this thing is just getting started in Fitchburg. In all these other places, it goes on for _months_. Dozens of kids before the shtriga finally moves on. The kids just…languish in comas and then they die." Sam sighed worriedly.

" _How far back's this thing go?_ " Dean asked. He had hoped for better news.

"Uh, I don't know. The earliest mention I could find is this place called 'Black River Falls' back in the 1890s. Talk about a horror show," Sam said and Hayley moved behind him to look at the screen. She grabbed the phone from his hands.

" _Sam?_ " Dean asked concerned as he heard rustling on the other end.

"No, it's me. There's a photograph of a bunch of doctors standing around a kid's bed. One of the doctors is Hydecker," she said. Sam took a closer look at the photo and frowned.

" _And?_ " Dean asked a little annoyed. _Couldn't those two just finish a damn sentence already?_

"This picture was taken in 1893," she stated.

" _You sure?_ " He frowned. Dr. Hydecker was right there with him at the hospital – right under his nose and he couldn't do a thing about it.

"A hundred percent," she asserted him.

* * *

The three of them met up back at the motel. Dean was pacing the room agitatedly. He just wanted to kill that damn thing.

"We should have thought of this before. A doctor's a perfect disguise. You're trusted, you can control the whole thing," Sam said.

"That son of a bitch," Dean said angrily and threw his leather jacket onto the bed next to Hayley.

"I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there," she said.

"Yeah well, first of all, I'm not going to open fire in a freakin' pediatrics ward," Dean explained, calming down a little.

"Good call," Sam agreed with a smile.

"Second, wouldn't have done any good, because the bastard's bullet proof unless he's chowing down on something. And third, I wasn't packing, which is probably a really good thing 'cause I probably would have just burned a clip in him on principle alone," Dean said.

"At least, you're getting wiser, Winchester," Hayley said with a smile and Sam chuckled.

"Damn right," Dean agreed with her. "'Cause now I know how we're going to get it," he declared.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, giving him a confused look.

"Shtriga, works through siblings right?" Dean asked rhetorically.

"Right," Hayley confirmed hesitantly. She didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Well last night…," Dean trailed off.

"It went after Asher," Sam finished his brother's thought.

"So I'm thinking tonight it's probably gonna come after Michael," Dean stated.

"What are we waiting for? We gotta get him out of here," Hayley said and jumped off the bed, ready to race that kid to the end of the world. Dean blocked her with his hand again. She hated it when he did that. Not that she couldn't just speed past him, but he radiated some kind of authority that she didn't want to cross.

"No. No, that would blow the whole deal," he said and both Hayley and Sam shot him horrified looks.

"What?" Hayley asked him, her voice sounding angry. She took a step back from him and he frowned at her.

"You wanna use the kid as bait? Are you nuts? No! Forget it. That's out of the question," Sam agreed with her.

"It's not out of the question. It's the _only_ way. If this thing disappears, it could be _years_ before we get another chance."

"Michael's a kid. We're not gonna sacrifice a child to some monster. It's too much of a risk," Hayley snapped at him.

" _This_ is exactly why I didn't want you to come along. You're not a hunter. You don't get it! You think just because you're fast, you can automatically save people. When in reality, you're just trying to make up for the fact that your dad killed your mom," he yelled at her. She didn't break his glare though, instead she stared at him, hurt and disappointment in her eyes before she spun around and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Dean!" Sam glared at him. He had mixed feelings about his brother right now. He had been an ass, sure, but Sam knew him well enough that something else was bothering him. "Have you completely lost it?"

Dean sighed. He knew he had been way too hard on her. She hadn't even been wrong. And the way he had looked at her - like _he_ was the monster. "I'll talk to her," he said with a sigh and followed her outside.

He found her sitting on the bench by the motel office. Her hands clutching her coffee cup like her life depended on it. It just made him feel even worse – like he had just shot a puppy. He joined her on the bench and looked at her, but she avoided him.

"I'm sorry." He cleared his throat. He probably should apologize more convincingly. "I was an ass back there." She looked at him with a faint smile.

"You know you never even asked me what happened," she said after a while as she stared at the road ahead. It was true. He had done research on her and found a newspaper article about another Dr. Allen – her father, who had stabbed her mother in the living room one night. He knew she wasn't to blame for her father's actions, which is why he never intended to throw it into her face. He felt bad he had screwed up.

"I thought if you wanted to talk about it, you just would," he replied.

"Why? Because we're such good friends?" She said darkly.

"We could be," he argued and shrugged his shoulders. She threw him a look.

" _Sure_. Dean, you find me annoying about what, ninety percent of the time?"

"Actually, it's a hundred," he joked and she narrowed her eyes at him. "But Sam's annoying me constantly, too. It's just the way it is." She couldn't help but chuckle at that comment and he smiled at her. "So, can I ask you something?"

"You just did," she replied with a grin and he frowned at her.

"You never talk about your dad. What happened?" She breathed in deeply and looked at him. His green eyes piercing right at her.

"He didn't do it. That night…something came to our house. Like a tornado, a blur," she said as she tried to gather her memories about that night – like she could ever forget.

"You mean like you?" He asked and she looked at him, shrugging her shoulders.

"Maybe, I don't know. My Dad…he tried to save her. I swear I saw a man in the blur and then suddenly I was twenty blocks away from our house. My Dad's serving a life sentence for something he didn't do. But no one ever believed me. Joe wouldn't even let me go visit him. Everyone thought he was guilty and I was just trying to cover for him." She paused for a moment. "All my life I've looked for the impossible, only to become it. But all I got was a few answers and a lot more questions. I thought I could do this, but you were right – I'm not a hunter. I just don't have the guts to do what you do," she said and looked at him. There was a pool of emotions in her blue eyes.

"Maybe not. But I was wrong too – I think maybe that lightning bolt chose you for a reason," he admitted and they shared a look.

"I just wanna help my Dad and find out what really happened." She sighed.

"Yeah, I get that, believe me." He sighed. He never thought they would have a lot in common, but they did and not just the dead mom part.

"I kinda thought you would," she said with a smile.

"Me and Sam, we'll help you find that thing and kill it," he promised her. She smiled at him and nodded. "And about the kid…you were right. Look, I don't like this any more than you do, but it's the only way. Dad didn't screw up, I did. It's my fault and there's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me," Dean said and looked sadly at her.

"What do you mean? How is this your fault?"

He sighed deeply before he answered. "Fort Douglas, Wisconsin. It was our third night in this crap room and I was climbing the walls. Man, I needed to get some air. Sam was already asleep so I went to the arcade, played some games and when I came back into our room…"

"The shtriga had gone after Sam," she finished his sentence.

"Yeah. Dad came back right at that moment and shot at the thing until it went out the window again. He just…grabbed us and booked. Dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away, but by the time he got back to Fort Douglas the shtriga had disappeared. It was just gone. It never surfaced until now. You know, Dad never spoke about it again, I didn't ask. But he, uh, he looked at me different, you know? Which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order and I didn't listen, I almost got Sam killed," he said and looked away, pained at the memory.

"You were just a kid," she started to soothe him, but he brushed her off.

"Don't, _don't_. Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it," he said determined.

"But using Michael – I don't know, Dean. I mean, how about one of us hides under the covers, you know. Let me be the bait," she suggested but already knew it wouldn't work.

"No, it won't work. It's gotta get close enough to feed – it'll see us. Believe me, I don't like it, but it's gotta be the kid. But I might have a plan to keep him safe," Dean said.

"What?"

"Let's just say I know someone who's fast enough to get the kid to safety just in time." He grinned at her and she returned his smile happily.

* * *

She gave Dean some time to talk to Sam about what had happened in Fort Douglas back when they were children before they went to see Michael and tried to convince him to be bait for a scary child-sucking monster. It went as expected.

"You're crazy! Just go away or I'm calling the cops," Michael threatened them, holding up the receiver of the phone. He looked at the three like they had gone mad.

"Hang on a second. Just listen to me. You have to believe me, okay? This thing came through the window and it attacked your brother. I've seen it. I know what it looks like. 'Cause it attacked my brother once too," Dean said and looked sincerely at the kid. He slowly hung up the phone again and stared at Dean.

"This thing…is it like…it has this long, black robe?" The boy asked.

"You saw it last night, didn't you?" Dean said.

"I thought I was having a nightmare," Michael said.

"I'd give anything not to tell you this, but sometimes nightmares are real," Dean told him. He hated to take the boy's innocence, but there was just no other option.

"So, why are you telling me?"

"Because we need your help," Dean replied.

"My help?" Michael looked at him confused.

"We can kill it. Us three, that's what we do. But we can't do it without you," Dean said, looking back to his own little brother and his new friend.

"What? No!" He exclaimed.

"Michael, listen to me. This thing hurt Asher. And it's gonna keep hurting kids unless we stop it, understand me?" Dean stared at the kid but Michael just looked at them horrified before telling them to leave.

* * *

"Well that went crappy. Now what?" Dean asked with a frown when the three of them came back to their motel room.

"What did you expect? You can't ask a adult to do something like that, much less a kid," Hayley pointed out.

There was a knock and the three turned to look at the door before Sam opened it.

"If you kill it, will Asher get better?" Michael stood in the door frame, desperately looking at them.

"Honestly? We don't know," Dean replied softly as he walked over to the boy and crouched down to him.

"You said you were a big brother," Michael said and Dean nodded. "You'd take care of your little brother? You'd do anything for him?"

"Yeah, I would," he replied and smiled back at Sam.

"Me too. I'll help," Michael agreed confidently and Dean gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

* * *

Hayley had placed four different night vision cameras in Michael's room. She had set up her laptop in the next room.

"Where did you get all this stuff anyway?" Dean asked her as he looked into the lens of one of the cameras.

"I…you know, borrowed it from CCPD?" She threw him a guilty look.

"You _stole_ it?" He chuckled.

"What?! I'll bring it back after we're done, so technically it's _borrowed_ ," she emphasized, but broke into laughter soon too. "We're all set up," she declared.

"What do I do?" Michael asked Dean as he sat patiently on his bed. Dean moved to sit with him.

"Just stay under the covers," he told the boy.

"And if it shows up?"

"We'll be right in the next room." He looked over to Hayley with a smile. "And Hayley's gonna get you out of there as soon as this thing comes. We're gonna come in with guns. So, when we do, you two hide under the bed."

"What if you shoot me?" Michael asked him.

"We won't shoot you. We're good shots," Dean replied and the kid smiled at him. "We're not going to fire until you're clear okay? Have you heard a gunshot before?"

"Like in the movies?"

"It's gonna be a lot louder than in the movies. So I want you to stay under the bed, cover your ears, do not come out until we say so. You understand?" Michael nodded hesitantly at him. "Michael, you sure you wanna do this?" He looked terrified at Dean. "You don't have to, it's okay, I won't be mad."

"No, I'm okay. Just don't shoot me," Michael said worriedly.

"Don't worry. Hayley here is pretty fast," Dean said and she threw him an amused look.

"Like the Flash?" Michael suddenly asked and Hayley's eyes widened excitedly. Dean frowned – this would be sending her to the moon.

"We're not going to let anything happen to you. I promise," Dean assured Michael.

* * *

The three had been sitting in the next room for what felt like forever. The shtriga hadn't shown itself yet.

"What time is it?" Dean asked.

"Three," Sam replied as he looked at his watch. "You sure these iron rounds are gonna work?" He asked.

"Consecrated iron rounds, and yeah it's what Dad used last time," Dean replied. Sam looked down on his left arm where Hayley had fallen asleep awhile ago.

"Hey Dean, I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For what?" His brother asked confused.

"You know, I've really given you a lot of crap, for always following Dad's orders. But I know why you do it," Sam said with a sad look in his eyes.

"Oh, god, kill me now," Dean muttered and rolled his eyes back. Sam had promised him no chick-flick moments. His little brother chuckled.

"Wait, look," Dean said and pointed at the screen. There was movement by the window. "Speedy, time to wake up." He shook her softly awake.

She was immediately up and ready again and looked at the screen as the shtriga was sliding open the window and slipping into Michael's room. The boys picked up their guns, moving to the door.

"Now?" Hayley whispered.

"Not yet," Dean replied. It still needed to feed.

The hooded figure moved closer to Michael's bed until it leaned over him. They watched as the shtriga opened its mouth and started to draw his energy.

Dean nodded at Sam and Hayley and she burst through the door as the brothers started shooting at the witch.

Michael and Hayley were already safely hiding under the bed when they heard multiple shots being fired. She heard the shtriga drop to the ground.

"You guys are fine?" Dean asked and she realized the question was directed at her and Michael.

"Awesome," Hayley replied a little breathlessly. It was damn tight under that bed.

"Good. Just stay put," Dean ordered them before he approached the shtriga, his gun ready to shoot. He relaxed a little when there wasn't any movement and glanced over to Sam. But the shtriga still wasn't dead and rose again, grabbing Dean by his throat and slamming him against the wall.

"Dean!" Sam yelled in horror, just as the shtriga moved on to him, throwing him to the ground. It opened its mouth and started drawing his vitality. He tried to reach for his gun but the shtriga was too strong, draining him of all his energy.

"Hey!" Dean shouted at the shtriga as it turned around. He shot it right between its eyes and it dropped to the ground.

"You okay little brother?" Dean asked Sam as he gasped for air. He nodded and held up two thumbs at his older brother. They helped each other to their feet and watched as the energy flowed out of the shtriga again. Dean raised his gun, shooting the damn thing three more times at blank range and its body crumbled into ashes.

"You guys can come out now," Dean said as he saw Hayley's head peek out from under the bed, looking curiously at the ashes. Michael came to stand next to him and smiled. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled back.

* * *

The brothers were packing the Impala as Hayley hopped out from their room, putting a test tube with grey dirt in her bag. The boys raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hayley, are those the shtriga's ashes?" Sam asked her with a chuckle.

"What?! You have your hobbies, I have mine," she replied defensively. They shook their heads at her with a smile.

"Hey, Joanna. How's Asher doing?" Dean greeted Michael's mother as she walked out from the motel office.

"Have you seen Michael?" She asked just as Michael came running up to her.

"Mom! Mom!" He sounded cheerful.

"Hey!" She greeted him with a big hug.

"How's Ash?" The boy asked hopeful.

"Got some good news. Your brother's gonna fine," she said and smiled widely at him.

"Really?" He asked with a happy grin.

"Yeah. Really. No one can explain it – it's a miracle. They're going to keep him in overnight for observation and then he's coming home," she said.

"That's great," Dean said and smiled too. He was glad all this was finally over for good.

"How are all the other kids doing?" Sam asked.

"Good. Real good. A bunch of them should be checking out in a few days. Dr. Travis says the ward's going to be like a ghost town," Joanna answered.

"Dr. Travis? What about Dr. Hydecker?" Hayley asked.

"Oh, he wasn't in today. Must have been sick or something," she replied.

"Yeah. Yeah must have," Dean replied with a sigh and looked over to his two accomplices.

"So, did anything happen while I was gone?" Joanna turned to her son. He glanced over to Dean.

"Nah, same old stuff," the boy lied.

"Okay. You can go see Ash," she told him and the kid could barely hide his smile before running off to the car. She laughed. "I, uh, I'd better get going before he hotwires the car and drives himself," she said to the three of them and joined her son.

"It's too bad," Sam said as he watched them drive away.

"Oh, they'll be fine," Dean said reassuringly.

"That's not what I meant. I meant Michael. He'll always know there are things out there in the dark – he'll never be the same, you know?" Sam paused for a moment. "Sometimes I wish that…"

"What?" Dean asked, looking at his brother.

"I wish I could have that kinda innocence," he finally said.

"If it means anything, sometimes I wish you could too," Dean said and meant it before he moved to the driver's door.

He noticed Hayley closely behind him and turned around. She frowned. "We're not gonna do our little dance again, are we?"

"What dance?" He asked her amused.

"The one where you tell me I can't come because you're pulling some weird protection crap on me that I'm just gonna ignore anyways," she said, looking at him. The corners of his mouth twitched a little before turning into a full-on smile. He opened the door to the backseat for her. "Really?" She grinned at him and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Just get in and stop gloating," he told her before grinning back and getting into the car with Sam, driving off to the next job.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Big thanks to everyone who read, followed, favorited and reviewed this story so far!

It's sure a lot of fun to write and I can't wait to explore all the good stuff yet to come! I also found a good chapter idea for between 1.19 and 1.20 because I realized the boys haven't even been to S.T.A.R. labs yet (shame on me).

Next up is Providences, uh sorry, Provenances ;)


	5. Chapter 5: Provenance (19)

**5\. Provenance (SPN 1.19)**

The brothers had made it to a bar in Upstate New York. It was the usual drill – Dean chatting up some girl at the bar while Sam was sitting alone at a table, doing research.

Hayley had taken some days off from driving around the country aimlessly to check in back home and get some work done. But even Central City had been quiet and she was glad when Sam had called her again with a possible new case.

She walked over to his table in the corner of the bar, papers scattered all around him. She glanced around the room until she found Dean flirting with a pretty brunette and sighed when she looked back at poor alone Sam. He didn't even try to engage in any kind of social interaction. She knew it was because of his girlfriend, but especially in their line of work, you just didn't want to feel alone sometimes.

"Seven, Four, Two Zero," the brown-haired young woman said to Dean with a cheeky grin. She was wearing a green top with a lot of cleavage and he had a hard time keeping his eyes on her face.

"Seven, Four, Two, Zero," he repeated as he keyed her number into his phone. "All right, you're in there. Perfect. So is that Brandy with a _y_ or an _i_?" He asked her with his flirty grin. He noticed Sam's hand gesturing and waving behind the girl's head.

"He's unbelievable." Sam sighed and shook his head as his older brother was giving him a 'wait' gestures before turning his attention back to the pretty bar girl. Hayley escaped a small smile. "What?" Sam asked, looking at her puzzled.

"Nothing," she replied.

Dean excused himself from the young woman and walked over to his little brother. He was happy to see Hayley had made it as well. The funny thing is, the car had been quieter with her gone again and he didn't like it. Plus, she always sided with him when it came to picking music and her voice was nice to listen to when she occasionally sang along.

"Hey, what you're doing here, Speedy? What, no little old ladies getting robbed in Missouri?" Dean chuckled and she threw him a look.

"God, I wish. I was bored out of my mind. The only good thing was Big Belly burgers with Iris," she said with a sigh.

"You went to Big Belly Burgers without me?" He even sounded offended. It was actually the best part about Central City, at least according to Dean.

"I knew you would say that, so…" Hayley placed a white paper bag on the table. Dean recognized the familiar smell and the packaging immediately and grabbed it greedily.

"Awesome," he replied with wide eyes and Sam shook his head amused.

"All right, I think we got something," Sam said as he tried to get those two to focus, but Dean's eyes wandered back over to the bar and his girl.

"Oh yeah, me too. I think we need to take a little shore leave, just a little bit. What do you think, huh? I'm so in the door with this one," he asked Sam almost pleadingly.

"So what are we today, Dean? I mean, are we rock stars, are we army rangers?" Sam asked and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Reality TV scouts, looking for people with special skills," he replied with a grin. "I mean hey, it's not that far off, right?"

"That actually works?" Hayley raised an eyebrow. She had always thought women falling for stuff like that was a myth but here she was being proven wrong.

"You bet it does. By the way, she's got a friend over there. Possibly hook you up. What do you think?" Dean said, looking at Sam.

"Dean, no thanks, I can get my own dates," he responded grumpily.

"Yeah you can, but you don't," Dean muttered under his breath. Hayley kicked his leg and shot him a warning look. By now, the whole world knew Sam needed to get out of his shell, but she wasn't sure pushing him into a bar hook up was the right thing either for him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sam asked his brother.

"Nothing. What you got?" Dean quickly changed the subject.

"Mark and Ann Telesca of New Paltz, New York were both found dead in their own home, a few days ago. Throats were slit. There were no prints, no murder weapons, all…" Sam said as Dean's eyes went over to the bar again where two women were waiting for him. He had intended to leave one for Sam, but now they both belonged to him. "Dean!" Sam said annoyed and his older brother turned back to him. "…no prints, no murder weapons, all doors and windows locked from the inside," Sam continued.

"Could just be a garden variety murder you know, not our department," Dean replied, taking a sip from his beer.

"No. Dad says different," Sam said.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked as Sam took out a map and started pointing at it.

"Dad noted three murders in the same area of upstate New York. First one here in 1912, second one right here in 1945, and the third in 1970, the same M.O. as the Telescas. Their throats were slit, doors were locked from the inside. Now so much time had passed between murders that nobody checked the pattern, except Dad. He kept his eyes peeled for another one," Sam explained.

"And now we got one. All right, I'm with ya. It's worth checking out. We can't pick this up 'til first thing though, right?"

"Dean!" Sam looked at him sternly before he noticed Hayley slowly sliding behind Dean with a guilty look in her eyes. He frowned at her. "You wanna drink too? You can't even get drunk!"

"Well, actually I've been really bored in my lab the last few days, so I tried to create alcohol for my metabolism," she said and pulled out a small vile with a clear liquid. "I really wanna try it." She had been excited all day to finally drink it.

"Well, go ahead, Speedy," Dean said with a chuckle. She grinned and emptied the whole vile before she started coughing.

"Damn, that's strong. It feels like my insides are on fire," she said with a husky voice.

"Is it at least working? How do you feel?" She looked at him with her big blue eyes and he could see her pupils widen as she started giggling.

"Tingly?" She phrased it more like a question than an actual answer before bursting into laughter. Oh yes, she was definitely drunk and like all drunk people she would probably regret it in the morning. "Oh, cute guy by the pool table. Bye," she told the boys as she hopped on over to a young blonde guy.

The boys followed her with their gaze and watched as she tapped the guy on the shoulder and started talking to him. Sam shook his head with chuckle, but Dean gave his brother a look.

"See? _She_ can get her own dates," he pointed out and Sam rolled his eyes as Dean walked back over to the two girls waiting for him at the bar. "Ladies…did you miss me?" he asked them with outstretched arms before joining them in the middle. Sam just sniggered at them before turning back to his books.

* * *

Bright and early next morning, Sam just grabbed his brother and Hayley and threw them into the Impala before driving to the Telesca's home. He didn't have any luck getting them out of the car though. Dean was already asleep again in the passenger's seat with his sunglasses on while Hayley was scattered on the backseat. She still felt sick to her stomach. She was glad she was in a car for once. As she had learnt the hard way last night – running at super speed and being pumped up on booze didn't really mix well.

Sam came back out from the house before reaching in through the Impala's window and honking the horn loudly before getting back into the car. He laughed loudly as both Hayley and Dean jumped up.

"Man, that is so not cool," Dean mumbled as he adjusted his sunglasses again.

"Yeah, dude. My ears feel like they just burst," Hayley agreed as she leaned forward between the two front seats.

"I just swept the Telescas with EMF. It's clean. And last night, while you two were, well, out…"

"Good times," Dean interrupted with a smirk and looked back at Hayley before fist bumping her.

"I checked the history of the house. Nothing strange about the Telescas," Sam finished.

"All right, so if it's not the people and it's not the house, then maybe it's the contents," Dean suggested.

"Like a cursed object?" Hayley asked.

"Probably, yeah," he answered.

"The house is clean," Sam repeated.

"Yeah I know, you said that," Dean said.

"No, I mean it's empty. No furniture, nothing," Sam explained.

"Okay, I'll bite. Where's all their stuff?" Hayley asked and Sam shot them a look.

* * *

They drove to a local auction house. As they walked across the parking lot, Hayley glanced at the expensive cars and some people of the upper class mingling in fancy clothes. She knew immediately the three of them would stick out.

They wandered around the auction house inside. The floors and walls looked like white marble and classical violin music was playing in the background. Dean grabbed a handful of finger food as a waiter walked by him with a tray.

"Consignment auctions, estate sales. Looks like a garage sale for Wasps if you ask me," Dean whispered to them before taking more food from a table behind him.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" An older man asked them, dressed in a black suit and tie. He looked displeased at them. Dean just looked him up and down before stuffing his mouth with even more food.

"I'd like some champagne please," Dean replied, mimicking a posh voice and Hayley chortled next to him.

"He's not a waiter," Sam said and looked at his brother sharply. He looked at Dean like he was a wild animal that hadn't been housebroken yet. Sam held out his hand to the fancy man. "I'm Sam Connors." The man just kept staring at him, not taking him up on his invitation for a handshake. "That's my brother Dean and his fiancée Hayley. We're art dealers, with Connors Limited," Sam introduced them. Dean grinned at her at Sam's introduction and she shot him a dirty look before he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him. She eventually obliged to his scheme and stole some food from his hand. Her stomach had been growling the whole damn morning.

" _You_ are art dealers?" The man raised an eyebrow at them.

"That's right," Sam asserted with a nod.

"I'm Daniel Blake, this is my auction house. Now gentlemen, this is a private showing, and I don't remember seeing you on the guest list," the man replied.

"We're there chuckles, you just need to take another look," Dean answered cockily with a full mouth. A waiter passed him with a tray of drinks and he swiped a glass. "Oh, finally." He turned back to Mr. Blake, sniffing the glass before raising his brows and walking away, pulling Hayley by her arm with him. Sam hastily followed them.

They looked around the auction house and all the weird crap rich people were interested in buying. They stopped by a painting of a family and Sam looked closely at it. The portrait showed a husband and wife and their three children, two sons and a daughter holding a doll.

"I fine example of American Primitive, wouldn't you say?" A young beautiful woman said from behind them. She had dark hair, tied up in a bun and was wearing a black tight dress. She smiled kindly at them as she walked down the spiral staircase. _What an entrance_ , Hayley thought. Even Dean seemed to think so as he slapped Sam's arm, starry-eyed.

"Well, I'd say it's more Grant Wood than Grandma Moses," Sam replied as he looked back at the painting. "But you knew that, you just wanted to see if I did." He smiled at her. Both Dean and Hayley stared perplexed at him.

"Guilty. And clumsy. I apologize. I'm Sarah Blake," she introduced herself with a smile.

"I'm Sam. This is my brother Dean and his fiancée Hayley."

"If he says that one more time, I'm gonna kick him in the groin," Hayley muttered to Dean who just continued to stuff food into his face.

"Dean, can we get you some more mini-quiche?" Sarah asked him politely with a chuckle.

"I'm good, thanks," he replied, still chewing and swallowing his last bite.

"So, can I help you with something?" Sarah asked, looking at Sam.

"Yeah, actually. What can you tell us about the Telesca estate?"

"The whole thing's pretty grisly if you ask me, selling your things this soon. But Dad's right about one thing, sensationalism brings out the crowds. Even the rich ones," she replied.

"Is it possible to see the provenances?" Sam asked and Hayley was now really surprised at Sam. She hadn't taken him for an art enthusiast.

"I'm afraid there isn't any chance of that," Mr. Blake replied for Sarah as he walked up behind his daughter.

"Why not?"

"You're not on the guest list. And I think it's time to leave," he told them.

"Well, we don't have to be told twice," Dean replied in his posh voice again.

"Apparently, you do," Mr. Blake answered mockingly.

"Okay. It's all right. We don't want any trouble. We'll go," Sam said.

Dean raised his eyebrows at the man before wrapping his arm around Hayley's waist and gesturing her out. Sam glanced back at Sarah as he followed the two outside and she looked at him apologetically.

* * *

"Grant Wood, Grandma Moses?" Dean asked his little brother with a raised eyebrow as they entered their motel room.

"Art history course. It's good for meeting girls," Sam responded and Hayley giggled.

"It's like I don't even know you," Dean said and shot him a surprised look.

They stopped for a moment and looked around the room. The decoration looked like it came straight from a 70s disco.

"I hate to say it but I'm pretty sure someone already shot porn in here," Hayley pointed out. She felt blinded by all the silver shimmering surfaces.

"Huh," the brothers said simultaneously before dumping their bags on the bed.

"What was…providence?" Dean asked, looking over at Sam.

"Prov-e-nance," Sam corrected him. "It's a certificate of origin, like a biography."

"We can use them to check the history of the pieces. See if any of them have a freaky past," Hayley chimed in as she walked into the bathroom, unpacking.

"Huh. Well, we're not getting anything out of chuckles, but Sarah…" Dean said and snapped his fingers at Sam with a smirk.

"Yeah, maybe you can get her to write it all down on a cocktail napkin," Sam replied with a snigger.

"Not me," Dean responded, laughing.

"No, no, no. Pick ups are your thing, Dean," Sam said defiantly.

"It wasn't his butt she was checking out," Hayley yelled from the bathroom.

"You hear that, Sammy?" Dean said and the brothers exchanged a look.

"In other words, you want me to use her to get information." Sam frowned.

"Sometimes you gotta take one for the team," Dean replied simply.

"Call her," Hayley agreed from the bathroom.

* * *

Sam had reluctantly called Sarah and they met up in a high-class restaurant. He felt out of place, even though restaurants like these were exactly the kind of places he had been used to at Stanford.

"Nice place," Sam pointed out as he looked around the room. They sat at a little table with a candle and some flowers.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed with a smile. There was a long awkward pause – the kind everyone fears at dates. "Glad you called. Surprised, but glad," Sarah finally broke the silence.

"Yeah?" Sam smiled at her and his smile even felt genuine for the first time in a long while.

"Although you seemed to have a hard time getting out the words 'Would you like to have dinner'," Sarah joked and Sam laughed.

"Uh, yeah. I haven't really been on a date in a while," he said and hoped she wouldn't bail.

"Welcome to the club," she replied with a small smile.

"You're kidding me." He hadn't expected it. She certainly didn't look like someone who couldn't get dates, but then again, neither did he.

"Here we are. The wine list," the waiter said as he approached them and handed Sam the little booklet. He took it hesitantly and flipped through random pages, looking completely lost and uncomfortable.

"I don't know about Romeo here but I'll have a beer," Sarah said to the waiter with a giggle and looked over at Sam.

"And you?" The waiter asked, turning to him.

"Make that two," Sam replied, smiling broadly at Sarah. The waiter looked rather unimpressed at them.

* * *

Dean was laying on his bed with various books strewn all around him while Sam was on his date with Sarah. Maybe Hayley had been right all along and pushing Sam into some bar one night stand was the wrong move. His little brother had been much easier to convince when it came to taking out Sarah.

Hayley had been taking a shower and he was surprised it took her this long. She was usually back out in five seconds. He heard the water had stopped running and glanced over to the bathroom door, when Hayley walked back out, only a white towel wrapped around her. She walked over to her bed, digging through her bag to find some clothes.

"What?" She interrupted his thoughts and he realized he had been staring at her maybe a little too long.

"Nothing. No speed showering today?" He grinned at her and she shook her head at him with a smile.

"No, I think I'm still hung-over. Anyways, I'm avoiding speed at all costs today," she replied and he chuckled.

"Well, perfect. Get dressed," he ordered her and she threw him a confused look.

"For what?"

"Well, since Sam's on a date, I thought you and I could have a little fun." He smirked at her and she raised an eyebrow at him warily.

* * *

"So you studied art in school, huh?" Sam asked Sarah. Their date was going good so far. After they had overcome the initial awkwardness, they started having a great time. It felt easy with her.

"It's true. I was an artist. A terrible, terrible artist. And that's why I'm in the auction business. And you were pre-law?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah." Sam swallowed.

"But you didn't go to law school. How come?" She looked curiously at him.

"Uh, that's a really, really long story for another time," he replied awkwardly. That's why he hated dating. He could never tell someone the truth.

"You're not like any art dealer I've ever met," she stated and they exchanged a long look.

"So, what did you mean when you said you haven't been on a date in a while. Trying to make me feel like I'm not such a loser?" He joked.

"I'm sure you're many things, Sam. I'm also sure loser isn't one of them," she said kindly. "It was my Mom. She died about a year ago. Totally unexpected. It really threw me. I went into this shell. A nice, warm, safe shell. But lately I've been thinking – it's not what she would have wanted for me. So…so what about you? You're a reasonably attractive guy." Sam laughed a little embarrassed.

"Reasonably?"

"Why haven't you been out and about?" Jessica popped into his mind, not like she wasn't there constantly. He glanced back up at Sarah before his smile started to fade. "Another long story for another time," Sarah repeated his words from earlier, seeming a little frustrated as Sam just nodded at her slowly.

* * *

Dean drew his gun and shot at the empty beer bottles a few feet away from him. He took a sip from the beer bottle in his hand before holding his gun out to Hayley.

"That's your idea of fun? Shooting bullets and drinking beer?" She looked at him and then hesitantly down at the gun in his hand. He had taken her somewhere into the woods before he had started rowing up empty bottles on a tree stump. "What are we, rednecks?" He was still patiently holding out the gun to her, not answering. "I was raised by a cop, you know. I know how to shoot," she said defensively.

"Great. Prove it," he said simply and held out the gun to her even further. By now, he knew she could never resist a challenge. She had quite the ego and he was afraid it might get her killed sooner or later, _but_ it had proven itself to be a useful tool in their training.

She grabbed the gun from his hand as expected and he chuckled. She drew the gun and shot three times, shattering all three glass bottles. He looked impressed at her. He hadn't expected it, considering how cautious she was around any sort of weaponry.

"See? Told you. Now can we go?" She would have raced away when she still wouldn't feel so sick. Instead she handed him back the gun and spun around quickly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." He grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him again. "What's going on?" He had noticed her being skittish around weapons, but he didn't know _why_.

"You know if I had known we were gonna do this, I would have worn my suit," she said, trying to change the topic. He rolled his eyes.

"God, no! Why do you even wear it?"

"You _really_ wanna know?"

"Actually, yeah." He crossed his arms at her with a smug smile. She shook her head laughingly.

"Fine," she said and grinned at him before she vanished into a bolt of lightning in the horizon.

A few seconds later, she stood next to him again. He smelt burnt rubber before looking down at her shoes – they were on fire.

"Holy!" He watched her do a little dance, stomping her feet on the ground to put out the fire. Then she grinned at him. "So you wear the suit, so you don't go up in flames," he said, realizing.

"Yep. It's basic physics," she said with a smile and he frowned at her.

"So back to topic, Speedy. You're gonna tell me what's going on?" She rolled her eyes at him frustrated.

"Nothing. I'm just not a fan of weapons, that's all. Plus, I don't need them so…" She shrugged her shoulders at him.

"You think you don't need weapons? You do realize there are some things you can't just stop by running really fast, right?" He raised an eyebrow at her with a smile. She bit her lower lip. Of course, she knew all that. "If you don't tell me what's bothering you, then I can't help you get over it," he said after a long pause.

She exhaled deeply. "I'm scared I'll kill someone."

"By accident?" He looked at her puzzled.

"No. Just in general," she clarified and knew how stupid it sounded. Especially to a hunter. John had almost ripped her head off back then.

"Yeah, but they're monsters, Hayley. Not humans," he said, looking at her.

"I know. But some of them look like humans or even _were_ human once," she replied.

"Like the vampires in Central City?" She nodded slowly at the memory. "You never told me the full scope on that one," he said as he opened a beer and handed it to her.

"There were like five of 'em. They hid out in some old production facility. I had followed them when they took Iris. I thought they were just thugs, you know? But they were _strong..._ and _fast_. And then I saw their sharp teeth and I knew what they were and that there was no way out of this. That's when your dad burst in, all G.I. Joe style and pulled out a machete and started to kill them one by one." He chuckled slightly before letting Hayley finish. "But there was one hiding behind some crates and he surprised me and came running for me. And I…I just stood there…completely frozen. I mean I knew what I had to do, but I just couldn't. All I saw was this _person_ running at me and the knife in my hands and…I couldn't do it." Dean looked down at her hands, clutching the beer bottle tightly, trying to stabilize them as they were shaking.

"Well, you know, beheading something with a machete might be a little far fetched for you right now. We'll just start off with rock salt and shooting ghosts. They're already dead, so you shouldn't have a problem with that, right?" She thought about it for a moment.

"I guess. But what if I'll never be able to do it, Dean?" Her blue eyes looked up at him, desperate for an answer. They were darker than usual and reminded him more of an ocean than the sky today.

"Then you won't. Look, I won't force you to become something you don't want to be. We'll figure something out. It worked fine on the last cases," he replied soothingly and he could feel her relax a little next to him. "Plus, there's enough other stuff I have to work on with you." She raised an eyebrow at him and he grinned at her cheekily.

* * *

Dean and Hayley came back to the motel room and found Sam sitting by some papers on the table.

"Hey, where have you guys been?" Sam asked and looked at them suspiciously.

"Out drinking," Dean answered partly truthful.

"How was your date with Sarah?" Hayley asked and smiled at him.

"Uh, good. She gave me the provenances," Sam replied and Hayley sighed and threw him a look. She missed Iris in that moment – they always talked about their dates, usually with a bottle of wine and _Sex and the City_ on. But guys were apparently different in that area.

"So she just handed the providences over to you," Dean said, looking at his little brother.

"Provenances," Sam corrected him.

"Pro-ve-nan-ces?" Dean spelled out questioningly and Hayley giggled.

"Yes. We went back to her place, I got a copy of the papers…" Sam said casually without looking up.

" _And_?" Hayley asked curiously. Sam threw her a look. _Not her too_ , he thought.

"And nothing. That's it. I left," Sam replied.

"You didn't have to con her or do any… _special_ favors or anything like that?" Dean asked with a cheeky grin.

"Guys, would you get your mind out of the gutter, please?" Sam said to them annoyed, but Dean just laughed at him.

"You know when this whole thing's done, we could stick around for a little bit," he suggested.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"So you could take her out again." Hayley gave him a leg up. She didn't know whether Sam was purposely playing dumb or if he really was that oblivious.

"It's obvious you're into her, even I could see that," Dean stated. But Sam ignored them and stared at the papers in front of him.

"Hey, I think I've got something here," he said and handed Hayley the papers.

"'Portrait of Isaiah Merchant's family, painted 1910'," she read. It looked awfully familiar to that painting of the family in the auction house.

"Now compare the names of the owners with Dad's journal," Sam said and Dean walked over to them to look at his father's notes.

"First purchased in 1912, Peter Simms. Peter Simms murdered 1912. Same thing in 1945. Oh, same thing in 1970," Dean said.

"Then stored, until it was donated to a charity auction last month. Where the Telescas bought it. So what do you think, it's haunted? Or cursed?" Sam said, looking up at him.

"Either way, it's toast," Dean responded.

* * *

They had parked the Impala close to the auction house before walking the rest of the distance on foot to avoid any kind of unwanted attention. They stood in front of a big metal gate and the three of them almost effortlessly climbed it. Sam jumped down first, followed by Dean, who helped Hayley land gracefully as well.

They ran to a metal door that led inside the auction warehouse. It was locked with a security code.

"Great, what now?" Dean frowned as he looked at the little box with the numbers. He had left his tools in the car.

Hayley pushed past him and started hitting various keys at super speed.

"You know the code?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Don't…need…to," she said while biting her lip and they heard a click as the display on the security box turned green. "You just need to try all the combos." She grinned at the brothers and Dean opened the door for them.

They pulled out their flashlights and snuck carefully through the dark room until they found the painting. Dean put his flashlight in his mouth to hold it in place before pulling out a switchblade knife and cut the painting right out of its frame before rolling it up.

They were out of the warehouse again in a matter of minutes and stopped at an abandoned dirt road. Dean threw the painting onto the ground as Hayley held the flashlight over it and Sam readied a match.

"I can't believe we just broke in somewhere and stole a painting just to burn it," Hayley said and the boys laughed.

"Ugly ass thing. If you ask me we're doing the art world a favor," Dean stated as he grimaced at the painting, just as Sam dropped the match and the painting ignited in front of them.

* * *

After a job well done, they decided to sleep in before hitting the road again. Hayley had gotten them breakfast while Sam was already packing his bag. Suddenly, Dean rushed in from the bathroom, looking through his pockets and running through the room, clearly looking for something.

"We got a problem – I can't find my wallet," Dean said a little flustered.

"How is that _my_ problem?" Sam asked, still calmly packing his bag.

"'Cause I think I dropped it in the warehouse last night," Dean said and Hayley threw him a look. Was she supposed to buy into his whole 'panicked' thing? She would have noticed if someone had left any evidence behind at that warehouse last night.

"You're kidding, right?" Sam asked and looked at his brother in a panic.

"No. It's got my prints, my ID, well my fake ID anyway. We gotta get it before someone else finds it. Come on," Dean said and grabbed his keys.

* * *

They drove back to the auction house and hurried around, looking into antique vases and under tables.

"How do you lose your wallet, Dean?" Sam muttered frustrated. Hayley hadn't even pretended to look for it and when she looked back at Dean, who threw his hands up in the air, he smiled at her with a wink and she shook her head.

"Hey guys!" Sarah came up next to them, smiling. Sam spun around surprised and tried to gather his coolness.

"Sarah! Hey," he said with an awkward smile.

"What are you doing here?

"Uh, we…we are leaving town and, you know, we came to say goodbye," he stammered when Dean walked up next to him with a grin.

"What are you talking about, Sam? We're sticking around for at least another day or two," he said to Sarah. Sam gave him a confused look. Dean then pulled out his wallet casually and held it up for Sam to see. His little brother frowned when he realized his scheme. "Oh, Sam. By the way. I'm gonna go ahead and give you that $20 I owe you." Sam shook his head at him in disbelief. "I always forget, you know," he said to Sarah and smirked at Sam. "There you go." Sam snatched the bill from Dean and glared at him.

"Well I'll leave you two crazy kids alone, we gotta go do something…somewhere," Dean said before grabbing Hayley's hand and leaving quickly.

"Go get her, tiger," Hayley whispered to Sam as she passed him with a grin.

"So…" Sam started awkwardly. He should have expected this behavior from Dean.

"I had a good time last night," Sarah said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah. I did too," Sam said, returning her smile.

"Maybe we should do it again sometime," she suggested. He hated Dean in that moment for putting him through that. He liked Sarah and he didn't want to lie to her.

"You know. I'd love to, I really would, but Dean, he was just screwing around. We really are taking off today," he said and knew it sounded like a bad excuse.

"Oh. Oh, uh, that's too bad." She looked disappointed.

Suddenly two guys were carrying a painting past Sarah. He almost couldn't believe his eyes. "Oh my God!" Sam shouted and jumped a little freaked. Sarah turned around surprised.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"The…that painting…looks so good!" He spluttered.

"If you can call that monstrosity good, then…yeah, I guess," she responded baffled.

"So…what do you know about that painting?" Sam asked her. He knew she would think by now that he was crazy – and she wasn't wrong, technically.

"Not much – just that it creeps me out. We sold it to the Telescas at a charity auction the night they were murdered," Sarah said.

"Yeah, and now you're just going to sell it again?" He asked with a pitchy voice.

"As much as my Dad wants to, no, I won't let him. I think it'd be in bad taste," she explained, looking at him confused.

"Good. Yeah," Sam agreed with a nod. "You know what? Don't. Don't. Make sure you don't, okay?"

"Why? Don't tell me you're interested in that?"

"No. No, God, no," he replied flustered. "Not in buying it, no. You know what, I gotta go, I gotta take care of something. But uhm, I will call you back…I will call you, I'll see you later," he said as he walked away backwards, trying not to knock something over.

"Wait, so you're _not_ leaving tonight?"

"No…I guess not. I'll see ya," he said and was out the door.

Sam headed down the stairs and caught up with Dean and Hayley, who were waiting for him in the Impala.

"I don't understand, Dean, we burned the damn thing," Sam said after he had told them about the magical return of the painting.

"Yeah, thank you Captain Obvious," Dean grunted. "All right, we just need to figure out another way to get rid of it. Any ideas?" He looked at Hayley in the backseat, who shrugged her shoulders at him.

"Okay, all right. Well, uhm, in almost all the lore about haunted paintings, it's always the painting's subject that haunts 'em," Sam responded instead.

"Yeah. So we just need to figure out everything there is to know about that creepy-ass family and that creepy-ass painting," Dean said, nodding.

"What were their names again?" Hayley asked and the brothers looked back at her.

* * *

They went to a second-hand bookstore, which was as close to a library as they could find in this town.

The proprietor had pulled out all the books and newspapers he could find on the Merchant family and had laid them out on a table for the three of them. "You said the Isaiah Merchant family, right?" He said, looking up at them. He was a middle-aged guy with grey hair and round glasses. He was about Hayley's height, but well-rounded.

"Yeah, that's right," Hayley said with a smile. She felt relieved to be in her comfort zone again.

Dean walked up to Sam and Hayley, grabbing an old book and flicking through the pages. He smiled when he looked at the pictures of guns in it. They shook their heads at him. Of course, the only book Dean Winchester would be interested in, had to have some sort of weaponry in it.

The owner came back, carrying a heavy old book in his arms and slamming it on the table in front of them. A little dust swirled through the air as he opened it. It featured various old newspaper clippings. "I dug up every scrap of local history I could find. So are you guys crime buffs?"

"Kinda. Yeah. Why do you ask?" Dean replied.

"Well…" He took out an article from the book. It was from 1912 and showed a lead story about the _Titanic_ sinking. But the owner pointed to a side story at the bottom about a father that had slaughtered his entire family before committing suicide.

"Yes. Yeah, that sounds about right," Dean said as he read through the article.

"The whole family was killed?" Hayley asked, looking up at the owner.

"It seems this Isaiah, he slits his kids' throats, then his wife, then himself. Now he was a barber by trade. Used a straight razor," the proprietor explained, almost excitedly.

"Why'd he do it?" Sam asked.

"Let's look. Uh…People who knew him describe Isaiah as having a stern and harsh temperament. Controlled his family with an iron fist. Wife, uh, two sons, adopted daughter…" he read aloud as he skimmed through the pages. "Yeah, yeah, yeah…There were whispers that the wife was gonna take the kids and leave. Which of course, you know in that day and age, uhm…so instead, old man Isaiah…well he gave them all a shave," the owner said as he mimicked slitting his own throat with a chortle. Dean joined him with a chuckle, but stopped when his two companions glared at him.

"Does it say what happened to the bodies?" Dean asked, clearing his throat.

"Just that they were all cremated," the proprietor replied and they sighed, already knowing what that meant.

"Anything else?" Sam asked, frowning.

"Yeah. Actually I found a picture of the family. It's right here somewhere." He fumbled through the books in front of him before pulling out a book and showing the opened page to them. "Right – here it is." It was the same picture as the painting.

"Hey, could we get a copy of this please?" Hayley asked, suddenly chipper. The brothers threw her a confused look at her abrupt mood change.

"Sure," the owner replied with a smile.

* * *

Sam was lying on his bed in their motel room while Dean and Hayley were crouched at the little table. The brothers were listening to her theory as she placed both pictures of the painting in front of her.

"I'm telling you guys, I'm sure of it. The painting at the auction house, Sweeney Todd is looking down. Painting here, demonic barber's looking out. The painting has changed," she said and pointed to the father in the copy from the bookstore.

"All right, so you think that Daddy dearest is trapped in the painting and is handing out Columbian neckties like he did with his family?" Dean asked.

"Well yeah, it seems like it," she answered with a shrug.

"But if his bones are already dusted then how are we gonna stop him?" Sam asked and they looked over to him on the bed.

"All right, well, if Isaiah's position changed then maybe some other things in the painting changed as well. You know it could give us some clues," Dean suggested and Hayley looked at him impressed.

"What, like a Da Vinci Code deal?" She chuckled. He gave her a baffled look.

"I don't know. Uh…I'm still waiting for the movie on that one. Anyway, we gotta get back in and see that painting," he replied and Sam and Hayley laughed. He got up from his chair and strolled to his bed, throwing himself onto the mattress and crossing his arms coolly. "Which is a good thing 'cause you can get some more time to crush on your girlfriend," he said and grinned at Sam.

"Dude. Enough already." Sam's face looked irritated.

"What?" Dean asked innocently. Hayley banged her head against the table with a frustrated sigh. The brothers shot her a quick look before returning to their oncoming fight.

"What? Ever since we got here, you been trying to pimp me out to Sarah. Just back off, all right?" Sam scowled at his older brother.

"Well, you like her don't you?" Dean asked and Sam just raised his arms and eyes to the ceiling. "All right, you like her, she likes you, you're both consenting adults…" Dean trailed off with a smirk.

"What's the point, Dean? We'll just leave. We always leave," Sam said frustrated, his voice already rising.

"Well, I'm not talking about marriage, Sam," Dean replied with a chuckle. He looked at Hayley as she banged her head on the table again and threw him a look.

"You know, I don't get it. What do you care if I hook up?" Sam asked agitated.

"'Cause then maybe you wouldn't be so cranky all the time," Hayley muttered and immediately held a hand over her mouth. Sam spun around and stared at her in disbelief while Dean chortled on his bed.

"You know, seriously Sam, this isn't about just hooking up, okay? I mean, I, I think that this Sarah girl could be good for you," Dean said calmly as he sat up on his bed. Sam sighed, scratching his head. He knew Dean was right. Even Hayley was agreeing with his brother and that was _rare_. "And…I don't mean any disrespect, but I'm sure this is about Jessica, right? Now I don't know what it's like to lose somebody like that…but I would think that she would want you to be happy," Dean added softly, watching his little brother closely. Sam said there quietly, taking everything in as tears came to his eyes at the memory of Jess. "God forbid have fun once in a while. Wouldn't she?"

"Yeah, I know she would," Sam replied, giving him a half smile before he sighed heavily. "Yeah you're right. Part of this is about Jessica. But not the main part," he said slowly.

"What's it about?" Dean asked, but Sam looked away, refusing an answer. "Yeah all right," Dean said, knowing he had pushed too far. He lied back down on his bed, crossing his arms again.

"Well, we still gotta see that painting, which means you still gotta call Sarah, so…" Hayley chimed in, looking at Sam.

He cleared his throat before picking up his phone while Dean shook his head with a content smile and closed his eyes.

"Sarah, hey, it's Sam. Hey, hi. Good. Good, yeah. Uhm. What about you?" Dean opened one eye again, watching his brother. "Yeah good, good, really good," Sam repeated nervously.

"Smooth…" Dean whispered and Sam threw him a look.

"So, uh, so listen. We, were uh, thinking that maybe we'd like to come back in and look at the painting again. I…" Sam trailed off and Dean shook his head at him before closing his eyes again. "I think maybe we are interested in buying it." There was a pause and Sam widened his eyes. "What!?" Sam got up from his bed and Hayley glanced at him. "Who'd you sell it to?" Dean rose up from his bed now too, listening closely. "Sarah I need an address right now."

* * *

Sam filled the others in on the way over to the address Sarah had given him. The auction house had sold the painting again. They jumped out of the Impala and ran into Sarah, waiting for them in the driveway.

"Sam, what's happening?" She asked him.

"I told you, you shouldn't have come," he said as he rushed past her to the front porch

"Hello, anyone home?" Dean shouted as he banged against the door.

"You said Evelyn might be in danger, what sort of danger?" Sarah asked, following them to the porch.

"I can't knock this sucker down. I gotta pick it," Dean declared and pulled out his picking tools from his jacket while Sam banged against the windows. Hayley had snuck away and tried to find another way in. Hunting seemed especially hard when there were people around who didn't know she had superpowers. And she wasn't too fond of the idea of blasting it around.

"What are you guys, burglars?" Sarah asked shocked as she watched Dean pick open the front door.

"I wish it was that simple. Look you really should wait in the car. It's for your own good," Sam told her worriedly as Dean opened the door and the brothers quickly went inside.

"The hell I will. Evelyn's a friend," Sarah said stubbornly and followed them inside.

"Evelyn?" Sarah shouted as she walked carefully through the foyer.

"Evelyn!" Dean called out as he entered the living room and saw Hayley standing there frozen. "How did you get in?" He asked her as he approached her.

"Back door was open," she replied without looking at him. She stared straight ahead and he followed her eyes to the fireplace, the painting hanging above it. A woman sat in a chair, her face turned away from them.

"Evelyn? It's Sarah Blake…Are you all right?" Sarah asked as she slowly approached the chair, walking past Dean and Hayley.

"Sarah don't. Sarah!" Sam shouted, trying to grab her hand as she reached out her arm to touch Evelyn's shoulder. As the three of them had already expected, the woman's head tipped back, exposing her slashed throat. Sarah's scream rung in their ears.

"Oh my God. Oh my God!" She cried out and Sam quickly moved over to her and put his arms around her, guiding her out of the room.

* * *

Dean had settled himself down at the little bar they had in their disco room. He had placed Sam's laptop on top of it while Sam paced the room restlessly. He glanced over to Hayley who had been lying on her bed for the last hour, staring at the ceiling. He didn't know whether she was shocked or thinking.

There was a knock on their door and Hayley raced up to get it. Sarah stormed into the room, rushing past her and straight to face Sam.

"Hey. You all right?" He asked her.

"No, actually, I just lied to the cops and told them I went to Evelyn's, alone, and found her like that," Sarah said upset. Dean smirked and Sam looked relieved at her.

"Thank you," he said.

"Don't thank me, I'm about to call them right back if you don't tell me what the hell's going on. Who's killing these people?" She asked and Sam glanced over to Dean, who raised his brows at his brother. Sam sighed at the lack of help.

"What," Sam responded simply.

"What?" Sarah asked confused.

"It's not 'who'. It's 'what' is killing those people," he clarified. She stared at him like he was insane. He sighed deeply. It always ended this way. "Sarah, you saw that painting move."

"No…no I was…I was seeing things. It's impossible," she stammered, looking at him desperately.

"Yeah well, welcome to our world," Dean said sarcastically.

"Impossible is kinda our thing," Hayley chimed in.

"Sarah, I know this sounds crazy, but we think that that painting is haunted," Sam said, looking at her.

"You're joking," she said with a snigger, tears filling her eyes. The three of them looked sincerely at her. "You're not joking. God, the guys I go out with."

"Sarah, think about it. Evelyn, the Telesca's, they both had the painting. And there have been others before that. Wherever this thing goes, people die. And we're just trying to stop it. And that's the truth," Sam said. She took a deep breath.

"Then I guess you'd better show me. I'm coming with you," she declared.

"What? No. Sarah no, you should just go home." Sam shook his head. "This stuff can get dangerous and…and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Look, you guys are probably crazy, but if you're right about this? Well me and my Dad sold that painting that might've got these people killed. Look, I'm not saying I'm not scared because I am scared as hell but…I'm not going to run and hide either," she said, striding to the door. "So are we going or what?" She turned back to look at them before walking out.

"Sam?" Dean said and Sam glanced over to him. "Marry that girl." He pointed to the door where Sarah had just walked out and Hayley nodded in agreement.

* * *

They went back to Evelyn's house. There was police tape over the door as Sam tried to pick it open. Sarah watched him curiously.

"Uh, isn't this a crime scene?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You've already lied to the cops. What's another infraction?" Dean shrugged his shoulders and took out his pocket knife to cut open the tape.

As soon as the door was open, they went in and Sam took the painting carefully from the wall.

"Aren't you worried that it's…gonna kill us?" Sarah asked, looking at the painting.

"Nah, it seems to do its thing at night. I think we're all right in the daylight," Sam replied.

"Guys, check it out. The razor – it's closed in this one, but it's open in that one," Hayley said as she held open the book to compare it to the painting in front of her.

"What are you guys looking for?" Sarah asked as she looked over Hayley's shoulder into the book and back to the painting.

"Well, if the spirit's changing aspects of the painting then it's doing so for a reason," Dean answered.

"Hey, hey look at this. The painting in the painting," Sam said and pointed to the painting in the background behind the family. The original showed a normal countryside whereas the painting in front of them showed something different.

"Looks like a crypt, or a mausoleum or something," Dean said, taking a step closer.

Hayley walked up behind him and took out a small device from her bag. She held the portable magnifier over the little painting in the painting. "Merchant," she read from the inscription on the crypt.

* * *

There were four cemeteries in this little town and so they decided to split. Dean, Sam and Sarah had been wandering around one graveyard, while Hayley went on her own to check out the other three. The brothers both knew it would be the fastest way.

"So this is what you guys do for a living?" Sarah asked as she strolled alongside Sam.

"Not exactly. We don't get paid," Sam joked.

"Well, Mazel tov," Sarah mumbled.

"Guys!" Hayley came running up to them – at normal speed. "I checked out the other three cemeteries. No crypt," she said.

"Wow, you checked out all three in half an hour?" Sarah asked and Dean rolled his eyes at Hayley.

"Yeah, I'm kinda fast like that," Hayley joked with a chuckle and Dean threw her a look.

"Couldn't have stopped for ice cream, huh?" He muttered to her, raising an eyebrow. His eyes then caught something in the distance. "Over there," he said, tapping Hayley on her arm to get her attention as he walked on over to the mausoleum.

The others followed him as he broke open the lock of the door. The crypt was full with dust and cobwebs, Dean pushing them aside to make way for the girls. The walls were full with various plates of different names and the brothers walked over to the four urns with glass boxes behind them.

"Okay, that right there – is the creepiest thing I've ever seen," Sarah pointed out as she stood in front of a glass container, looking at a little girl's doll.

"It was a…sort of tradition at the time. Whenever a child died sometimes, they'd preserve the kid's favorite toy in a glass case, put it next to the headstone or crypt," Hayley said as she looked at the doll.

"Notice anything strange here?" Dean asked as cold wind blew threw the door, rustling some leaves around.

"Uh, where do I start?" Sarah said sarcastically, looking around the creepy mausoleum. Sam chuckled and looked at her. He admired her bravery – a couple of hours ago, she hadn't even known all this existed.

"No, that's not what I mean. Look at the urns," Dean said.

"Yeah. There are only four," Hayley said.

"Yeah, Mom and the three kids. Daddy dearest isn't here," Dean said, looking back at Sam.

"So where is he?" Sam asked frustrated.

* * *

The four drove to the county office buildings. Dean and Hayley went inside, leaving Sam and Sarah behind to give them some alone time. The two sat down on a small concrete wall outside the building.

"So what exactly are they doing in there?" Sarah asked Sam after they had been sitting and waiting there quietly.

"Searching county death certificates, trying to find out what happened to Isaiah's body," Sam explained.

"How'd they even get in the door?" Sarah asked.

"Lying and subterfuge mostly. Although, Hayley works for the police, so she might have more luck legally," Sam said with a chuckle. "You have a uh…you have an eyelash on your right…no, uh, you know what," Sam stammered as he watched Sarah reach for the eyelash, searching her face with her fingers. He laughed. "Do you mind if I – get it?"

"No." She smiled at him, her cheeks blushing a little as he reached out his hand and gently grabbed the eyelash between his fingers.

"Okay, I got it. Make a wish," he said with a smile and she laughed before blowing it away.

"Sam, can I ask you something?" She said, looking at him. She was beautiful. Her dark hair shimmering in the light afternoon sun and her green eyes staring mesmerizingly at him.

"Yeah, sure," he replied but already regretted that answer.

"I don't mean to be forward, but a girl could wait here forever. Is there something, here, between us? Or am I delusional?" She bit her lower lip with a small smile.

"You're not delusional," Sam said but fell quiet again.

"But there's a _but_ coming," Sarah stated disappointedly.

" _But_ …I don't think this would be a good idea." He sighed.

"Can I ask why?" She wouldn't be told off _that_ easy.

"'Cause I like you," Sam replied and she laughed, shaking her head confused.

"Wait. You lost me," she said and they both started to laugh before Sam became serious again.

"Look, it's hard to explain. Uh, it's just when people are around me – I don't know, they get hurt," he said and stared down at his hands before he dared to look at her again.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like _physically_ hurt. With what me and my brother do, it's…" he trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Sarah, I had a girlfriend. And she died. And my Mom died too. I don't know, it's like, it's like I'm cursed or something. Like death just follows me around. Look, I'm not scared of much, but if I let myself have feelings for anybody…"

"You're scared they'd get hurt too," she finished for him. "That's very sweet. And very archaic." He looked back up at her surprised.

"Sorry?"

"Look, I'm a big girl Sam, it's not your job to make decisions for me. There's always a chance of getting hurt," she told him.

"I'm not talking about a broken heart and a tub of Häagen Dazs. I'm talking about life and death," Sam said. He didn't really expect her to be this stubborn.

"And tomorrow I could get hit by a bus. That's what life is. Look, I know losing somebody you love – it's terrible. You shut yourself off. Believe me, I know. But when you shut out pain, you shut out everything else too," Sarah said, looking at him.

"Sarah, you don't understand. The pain that I went through…I can't go through it again. I can't," he said before their conversation abruptly ended when Hayley and Dean walked out of the building again.

"Am I interrupting something?" Dean asked and Hayley sighed. She had tried to keep him in longer when she saw the looks on Sarah's and Sam's faces.

"No," Sam replied a little annoyed.

"Not at all," Sarah said with an uncomfortable smile.

"Huh. Apparently," Dean said, looking between the two of them.

"Told you," Hayley mumbled and Dean shrugged his shoulders at her.

"So, what'd you get?" Sam asked, interrupting their not-so-silent conversation.

"Paydirt. Apparently the surviving relatives of the Merchant family were so ashamed of Isaiah that they didn't want him interred with the rest of the family," Hayley said.

"So, they handed him over to the county, the county gave him a pauper's funeral. Economy style. Turns out he wasn't cremated – he was buried in a pine box," Dean said.

"So there are bones to burn," Sam said, looking at them as they both smiled widely.

"There are bones to burn," Dean affirmed.

"Tell me you know where," Sam said and Dean grinned at him.

* * *

They waited after midnight before driving to the graveyard again. Sam and Dean were already knee-deep in a grave, shoveling dirt while Hayley sat on the edge with a beer and Sarah standing behind her, shining a flashlight at the boys. Sam crawled out of the grave and positioned him next to Sarah.

"You guys seem to be uncomfortably comfortable with this," Sarah said, looking down at Dean who was sweating and full of dirt, leaning on his shovel as Hayley held out his beer for him. He took a sip before he continued digging.

"Well, uh, this isn't exactly the first grave we've dug. Still think I'm a catch?" Sam said with a snigger. Sarah laughed.

"You know this would be a lot faster if you would do some digging," Dean complained, looking at Hayley.

"You want me to get dirty, Winchester?" She asked with a chuckle before jumping down into the grave. She handed him his beer back before taking the shovel. She looked back at Sarah and he followed her gaze and winked at Hayley knowingly. He jumped up to join Sarah and Sam before he turned Sarah away from the grave.

"Hey, Sarah, have you ever seen a moon this beautiful? I mean Sammy here knows lots of romantic crap about it, don't you?" She heard Dean say and shook her head with a giggle before using her speed to dig.

"Think I've got something," she shouted as she tapped her shovel against something hard. Dean jumped back into the grave and cracked open the coffin lid. They looked down at a dusty skeleton.

Sam poured salt over the body while Hayley doused it in kerosene before Dean stroke a match.

"You've been a real pain in the ass, Isaiah. Good riddance," Dean said as he tossed the burning match into the grave and it went up in flames.

* * *

The Impala pulled up in front of Evelyn's house again and Sam jumped out of the car, Sarah following him. They had shared the backseat as Dean had insisted that Hayley sat up front with him to give the two some space.

"Keep the motor running," Sam said to him as he ran for the door.

"I thought the painting was harmless now?" Sarah asked, trailing behind him.

"Better safe than sorry. We're gonna bury the sucker," Sam declared.

"I'm going with you," she said stubbornly.

"You sure?" He looked at her but by now he knew he couldn't keep this girl from anything even if he wanted to. She nodded decisively at him.

"Hey! Hey, hey," Dean called after Sam through the opened car window. "We'll stay here, you go make your move," he yelled in a whisper tone at his little brother. Sam scoffed at him before turning back to Sarah. "Sam. I'm serious!" He turned on the radio with a cheesy love song just as the two had reached the porch. They turned around to Dean in the car. Sam grimaced at him and he turned the music off again with a sigh and shrugged his shoulders innocently before Sam and Sarah went inside.

"Stop pushing so hard, zookeeper. They're not pandas. You can't _make_ them mate," Hayley said with a smile as she looked out her window.

"Yeah, I know. I don't get why that kid can't just let loose sometimes." He sighed.

"Sam's different. I mean as soon as he went off to college, he ended up in a long-term relationship," she said.

"What about you?" Dean asked and she looked at him, shrugging her shoulders.

"What about me?"

"I don't know…it's just you seemed like relationship girl when I first met you," he said and she snickered.

"Yeah, well, that's because I _was_ relationship girl, at least in college," she said, looking out the window again.

"Bad break-up?" Dean asked, keeping his eyes on her even though she tried her best to avoid his gaze.

"Takes one to know one," she said with a small smile.

"Yeah, I've been there," he said as Cassie crossed his mind again and he realized Hayley probably knew about her already. She confirmed it by smiling knowingly at him before she narrowed her eyes and looked past him. There was a bang as the front door slam shut and Hayley raced out of the Impala before Dean could even look back at her. He got out of the car and caught up with Hayley by the door, who was trying hard to get it open again. He pushed her out of the way and tried to open it himself – with no luck.

"Uh, Sam? You're the expert on all this ghost stuff. Is that painting supposed to look like that? Where's the little girl?" Sarah asked as she stood in front of the painting next to Sam.

"And the razor," Sam said, looking around the living room before they heard the front door slam shut. He ran to the door and tried yanking it and heard Dean on the other side.

"Dean! Hayley! Is that you?" He shouted through the door.

"Sammy, you all right?" He heard Dean's voice. He pulled out his phone and called his older brother.

"Tell me you slammed the front door," Dean answered his phone and put him on speaker.

" _Nope, it wasn't me. I think it was the little girl_ ," Sam said.

"Girl? What girl?" Dean asked confused and Hayley sighed next to him.

"Oh, that's why Isaiah was looking down at her earlier!" She exclaimed.

" _Yeah she's out of the painting. I think it might've been her all along_ ," Sam agreed.

"Maybe he was trying to warn us," Dean joined in on their theory.

" _Hey, hey, hey, let's recap later all right? Just get us out of here_ ," Sam urged them.

"Well, I'm trying to pick the lock, the door won't budge," Dean said frustrated as he fumbled with the picks in his hands.

" _Well, knock it down_ ," Sam ordered him.

"Okay genius, let me just grab my battering ram," Dean retorted.

"Get out of the way," Hayley said and pushed him to the side before she disappeared and a bolt of lightning struck the door. He watched as she was thrown back a few feet and landed on the hard concrete. The door was still closed and he ran over to her and helped her get back up. "I think I broke something," she muttered, grimacing in pain.

He raised his brows at her. "Yeah, you bet you broke something, just not the door, Speedy."

" _Dean, the damn thing is coming_ ," Sam yelled through the phone.

"Well, you're just gonna have to hold it off until we figure something out. Get some salt or iron," he ordered his little brother.

Sam grabbed Sarah's hand and led her to the kitchen. He rummaged through all the cabinets and drawers.

"What kind of house doesn't have salt? Low-sodium freaks. Hey, did you find any iron?" he asked and looked at Sarah, who closed a cupboard again.

"No. What's it for?"

"Iron repels evil spirits, but it's gotta be pure. Hurry," he said. "Look in the chair. Sometimes the seats," he suggested as they searched through the house to find anything usable. The kitchen door slammed shut once they were in the living room again, wind blowing papers through the room. Suddenly the little girl appeared, dragging her doll along the floor by one foot and holding a razor in her other hand.

"Sam?" Sarah watched in horror as the little girl crept up to them. Sam saw the ghost now too, immediately hiding Sarah behind his back, building a protective wall in front of her. The girl skipped closer to them.

"That is just so wrong," Sarah said as she stared at the little girl with the evil look on her face. Sam grabbed a poker from the fireplace. They were usually made of pure iron, so it should work. He swung at the ghost and it disappeared.

"Iron?" Sarah asked, sounding a little relieved for the moment and he nodded.

" _Sammy, you okay_?" He heard Dean's voice on the phone.

"Yeah, for now."

" _How we gonna waste her?_ "

"I don't know, she was already cremated. There's nothing left to burn," Sam replied with a sigh.

" _Then how's she still around?_ "

"There must be something else," Sam mused and Sarah suddenly touched his arm.

"Sam wait. We used to handle antique dolls at the auction," she said.

"Well, that's fascinating Sarah but is it important right now?" He asked sarcastically.

"Well, back then they used to make the dolls in the kids' image, I mean everything, they would use the kid's real hair," she explained.

" _Dean, Sarah said the doll might have the kid's real hair. Human remains, same as bones_ ," Sam told them through the speakers. Hayley and Dean shared a look outside.

"The mausoleum!" They realized at the same time and rushed to the car.

* * *

Dean let the Impala come to a screeching halt in front of the Merchant crypt. He didn't care that he had just raced across a graveyard and drove through closed gates. Hayley head-started into the mausoleum, banging against the glass box before pacing the room, trying to find something to open it with. Dean came running in and she grabbed his gun from behind his back without thinking twice about it and shot open the glass container. She grabbed the doll and threw it to Dean, who caught it expectantly.

The wind whistled through the house again, Sam already raising his poker and keeping Sarah behind his back. Suddenly, a cupboard that stood against the wall moved and knocked him to the ground, pinning him there. Sarah ran over to help him get back up again when the ghost of the girl reappeared behind her. She spun around, coming face to face with the little girl.

Dean pulled out the lighter from his pocket, flicking it open and holding it under the doll's hair as it slowly lit on fire before he dropped the burning doll to the ground. "Nice shot, by the way," he said and grinned at Hayley.

"Thank you," she said with a smile as she walked past him, handing him back his gun. He followed her outside while reaching for his phone, calling to check on his brother.

" _Sam, you good?_ "

"Not bad," Sam answered his phone as he leant back against the wall next to Sarah. She looked exhausted at him and he was still trying to catch his breath. The ghost would have probably killed the two, if Hayley and Dean hadn't burnt the damn doll on time.

* * *

The next day the three of them drove to the auction house one last time, so Sam could say a proper goodbye to Sarah. Hayley and Dean had tried to convince him profusely that he had to go for it, but he just ignored them.

Sarah stood in the middle of the room, watching on as some guys packed up the creepy painting.

"This was archived in the county records," Hayley said and handed Sarah some papers.

"The Merchant's adopted daughter Melanie. Know why she was up for adoption? 'Cause her real family was murdered in their beds," Dean added.

"She killed them?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah. Who'd suspect her? Sweet little girl. So, then she kills Isaiah and his family. The old man takes the blame. His spirit's been trying to warn people ever since," Dean replied.

"So where's this one go?" One of the packers asked Sarah as he pointed to the crate with the painting.

"Take it out back and burn it," she said and everyone stared at her disbelievingly. "I'm serious guys. Thanks," she told the workers before turning back to the three of them. "So why'd the girl do it?"

"Killing others? Killing herself? Some people are just born tortured. So when they die, their spirits are just as dark," Sam explained.

"Maybe. I don't really care. It's over, we move on," Dean said with a shrug.

"Uh…I guess this means you're leaving," Sarah said, looking sadly at Sam. Sam turned around to look at a grinning Dean and Hayley, waiting expectantly for him to make a move.

"We'll go wait in the car," Hayley said and kicking Dean slightly. "See you, Sarah." She hooked her arm through Dean's trying to guide him to the door. He didn't budge an inch, waiting there awkwardly for a second before following Hayley's lead.

"I'm the one that burned the doll and destroyed the spirit, but don't thank me or anything," he grumbled and Hayley giggled, patting his arm sympathetically.

"There are a million things I wanna say to you but for the life of me I can't think of one," Sarah said with a smile as soon as the other two had left.

"Yeah, I'll miss you too," Sam replied with a snigger.

"You know there's a lesson in all of this," she said.

"What's that?" He raised his brows curiously.

"We all got through this in one piece. I didn't get hurt," she stated and he laughed.

"Yeah, I'm glad for that," he admitted.

"So, maybe you're not cursed. Maybe…maybe you'll come back and see me," she suggested with a hopeful smile.

"I will," he promised even though he wasn't sure he could keep it.

Dean and Hayley were leaning against the Impala, watching curiously as Sarah let Sam out of the auction house. She closed the door and Dean shook his head, already getting back into the car. He felt Hayley's hand an his arm and looked back up to the door. It opened again, Sarah smiling at Sam before he took a step closer and kissed her.

"That's my boy," Dean said with a grin and Hayley shook her head at him with a chuckle as her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket.

"Joe?" She answered it and Dean looked at her. "Yeah, I'll be right there," she said and hung up again.

"Something's up?" Dean asked as Sam approached them with a wide smile.

"Yeah, Joe thinks there's a meta-human on the loose. He wants me to check it out," she replied.

"Okay, let's go," Dean said as he opened the driver's door.

"Dean, I'm way faster on foot than by car." He sighed but he knew she was right.

"Fine, but we'll meet you there." He gave her a stern look that told her there was no way from keeping the brothers out of this. She nodded.

"Okay, I'll meet you to at S.T.A.R. labs in a few hours," she said but didn't even wait for their response before she vanished.

The boys shared a look before Dean gestured to the Impala. "Let's go."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This ended up being waaaaaaay longer, but it was just soooooo much fun to write with all the romances cooking up. I loved Sam and Sarah. They definitely would have made a great couple. Oh well, guess I'll just have to find someone else for Sam ;)

Next up will be a Central City chapter again (so off-Canon in SPN) and it will be based on Flash 1.06. So excited for the guys to meet the Flash team and hang out some more with Iris. Plus, I have another character crossing over from Supergirl. I had to slightly change him/her to fit in with the story, but I just couldn't resist :D

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! As always thank you for following, favoriting, reviewing and reading this :)


	6. Chapter 6: Things You Can't Outrun

_Don't bend, don't bleed, don't beg, don't scream, don't whine, don't fight, don't tell me._  
 _Don't tell me, don't tell me._

 _Don't feel, don't tear, don't kiss, don't care, don't touch, don't want me._

 _Don't run, don't hide, don't hurt, don't lie, don't breathe, don't try, don't find me._

 _Don't sing, don't talk, don't yell, don't laugh, don't think, don't speak, don't save me._  
 _Don't save me, don't save me._

 _Something's so sick about this, my misery's so addictive._

 _Northshore_ by **Tegan and Sara**

* * *

 **6\. Things You Can't Outrun (X-Over 1.06)**

 _ **Flashback, 13 years ago**_

"Increased pressure produces increased heat, and if you don't release it, you get combustion," Hayley explained as she rearranged her glasses. They were always a little too big for her, but she liked them. Iris looked at her with big brown eyes while licking her ice cream – mint chocolate chip as usual.

"I don't know how you remember all this stuff, Hayley," Iris said, her ponytail bobbing up and down while the two girls walked home together from school. Sometimes they got picked up by either Iris' Dad or Hayley's Mom, but they preferred to walk home without adult supervision. It meant they could go to the candy store after school and secretly fuel up on sweets before coming home.

Hayley's eyes glanced over to a bunch of boys beating up a smaller, chubbier one. She knew those boys from school and felt sorry for the smaller kid. It didn't seem fair – four against one. But bullying was hardly ever about fair.

"Hayley, don't," Iris called after her when Hayley walked over to the group of boys. Iris rolled her eyes at her best friend and followed her.

"Hey Tony, why don't you pick someone your own size?" She said forcefully to the tallest of them. Her eyes widened when Tony turned around to face her, towering over her like a freaking skyscraper. Admittedly, it wasn't the best idea she had. She should have called a parent or a teacher – some type of adult that would handle this and not someone who almost just peed into their own jeans overalls.

"Why don't you mind your own business, Allen?" He snorted at her before turning back to his victim.

She swallowed hard. "No. Leave him alone, Tony."

He spun around with a laugh, crossing his arms. "Or what, loser?"

She hesitated before she spotted Iris' ice cream. She just went for it as her only logical option and threw it at Tony – and miserably failed at hitting the desired target. The ice cream landed in front of his feet.

But it was enough for Tony's eyes to widen and for his face to turn a dark shade of red. The other boys laughed at her missed hit, but she could tell that Tony wouldn't be as forgiving.

"Run, Hayley, run!" Iris shouted at her and she started to move her feet, Tony immediately sprinting after her. But there was no way she was fast enough and he eventually caught her, knocking her to the ground with one hard punch.

"Looks like you were born to take a beating, Allen," Tony said before he joined the other boys again.

When she came home from school that afternoon with a bleeding chin and kneecap, her Mom had sat her down promptly on the big living room chair and was already tending to her wounds, placing a pink band-aid on her knee and a kiss on her chin.

"Tell me what happened," her mother said, looking her daughter deep into her baby blue eyes. They looked guiltily back up at her.

"Those guys were picking on kids just 'cause they thought they weren't cool. It wasn't right," Hayley explained. She felt helpless and all she wanted to do was to help.

"I know," her mother replied calmly, stroking her cheek.

"I guess I wasn't fast enough," she said sadly, looking down at her legs. She was a small kid, which meant shorter legs and smaller steps.

"No. You have such a good heart, Hayley. And it's better to have a good heart than fast legs," her mother said with a smile before kissing her forehead.

"Hello. I'm home," her father called out from the foyer. He came home soon after Hayley. He always left his practice early to have dinner with his family. He walked over to his wife and gave her a kiss. Hayley wrinkled her nose in disgust, even though she admired them. She knew other children weren't as lucky to have two parents that loved each other.

"Hayley got into a fight," Hannah said to her husband with a glance to their daughter.

"Oh, yeah?" He raised an eyebrow with a small smile.

"And she won," she added with a wink to her daughter. Hayley giggled.

"Ah, way to go, slugger," Henry replied with a smile before tousling his daughter's hair. His wife threw him a look. "Oh, and uh, no more fighting," he said quickly and placed kisses on both their foreheads.

* * *

 **Central City, Missouri**

Joe was sitting at his desk at CCPD. He was surrounded by boxes full of evidence. His desk was piling up files with cases he had to work, but his eyes were glued to the laptop screen in front of him, his ears only focusing on the voices in his headphones.

" _The lightning was in the house. I told my daughter to run. She disappeared, and that's when I saw the blood_ ," Henry explained on Joe's screen. He was being held in the police's interrogation room, his hands handcuffed.

" _Your prints were on the murder weapon_ ," the interviewing cop said.

" _I needed to stabilize the knife. I'm a doctor. I was trying to save her_ ," he pleaded with the cop, his eyes filling with tears." _I didn't kill my wife. Joe, tell them. You know me. Our kids are friends. You tell them, Joe,_ " Henry said and looked directly at the camera.

Joe had never questioned the evidence surrounding his adoptive daughter's case. He never had doubted Henry's guilt in thirteen years. But ever since the particle accelerator explosion, things had changed. His daughter had changed.

He closed the laptop quickly when he saw said daughter approach his desk with a big smile. He sighed relieved when he saw her still in one piece. He was a cop and a father, so his natural instinct was to worry. And he had already worried enough in a world before meta-humans and the supernatural. Now he was surprised he could even still sleep.

"Hey, what you're looking at? Is that our case? The new mystery meta-human?" She asked, quickly scooting behind him to get a look.

"Uh, no. Different case," he quickly changed the subject and pulled out some files. "Take a look at that."

She took the files and looked at a photo of a thick metal bar bended into a u-shape. "You think a meta-human did this?"

"No human I know could've done _that_. Perp robbed a pawn shop, stealing some gold chains. It only took him five minutes, so there's no way he could've done that to the metal door with a machine," Joe explained.

"Any security footage? Or evidence?"

"Nope. None so far. Plus, our best CSI wasn't in town to do her job," Joe deadpanned. She shook her head at him with a smile.

"Well, she's here now to save the day." She grinned at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Just get outta here! I'll call you when he shows up again," Joe said and waved her off.

* * *

Iris was wearing a black dress and a beige blazer, her black soft curls hanging over her shoulders. She felt Eddie's hand grab her waist and he kissed her dark red lips gently. She smiled at him. His blue eyes only focusing on her.

"You guys are making me puke," Hayley complained as she walked past them into the bar. She grimaced at her sister, who stuck her tongue out at her with a grin. She knew this would happen when Iris suggested a fun catch-up night at the bar with Eddie.

"Hey, look who's back!" Mike raised his arms excitedly behind the bar. She sat down at the little bar stool at the end and knocked on the bar twice with her fist. Mike immediately got the queue and placed a cocktail glass in front of her with a pink-orange-y liquid and a little umbrella stuck in it.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What the hell is that?"

"What does it look like? It's a drink. Just taste it," Mike said with a smile.

"No." She squirmed in her seat and he frowned at her.

"What, c'mon! I learned how to make a few more drinks while you were away. The ladies seem to like 'em," he said and gestured cheekily over to a group of girls on the dance floor, slurping on those drinks. He waved at them charmingly and the group of girls started giggling. She shook her head at him with a smile.

"Well, good for you and your career as a bartender. Now gimme the real booze. No funny business," she said and he rolled his eyes before placing a glass of whiskey in front of her. She grinned satisfied at him.

"You know this is a waste of good booze on you," he muttered.

"Ooooh, is that one of those new cocktails? I love those!" Iris said excitedly as she walked over to them, hand in hand with Eddie. She grabbed the fruity drink Hayley had refused and started to practically inhale it through the little pink straw.

"See? Thank you, Iris. At least, someone here appreciates all my hard work," Mike said, looking at Hayley. She narrowed her eyes at him before she started to chortle. He threw her a look.

"Uh, honey, you know what happened last time you drank one of these," Eddie reminded her carefully. He knew arguing with a member of the West family could potentially be dangerous.

"Mhm, don't remind me," Iris said, grimacing, as she put the drink back on the table. "Hey, you wanna play some darts with us? Eddie wants to teach me how to throw." Iris winked at her sister.

"Nah, you two go ahead. Otherwise I would only be throwing up all over you two," Hayley joked and Iris playfully slapped her sister's arm.

"Fine. We'll catch up after? Eddie has another shift later." Iris rolled her eyes in annoyance. It sure wasn't easy dating a cop, but she had already known that from her father.

"Yeah, sure. Go have fun, sis," Hayley replied with a smile and watched as her sister cheerfully hopped over to the darts across the room, slinging her arms around Eddie. Hayley was glad Iris had found someone, especially since she was on the road now all the time.

"So, you're back for good?" She peeled her eyes away from the happy couple and looked back up at Mike.

"No, just back for another meta-human," she replied.

"Oh, so you're going back in a few days?" He sounded a little disappointed, but she tried to ignore it.

"Yeah, I guess." She shrugged.

"So, where are your two side-kicks then?" He asked.

"Oh, they're coming. They're just a lot slower." She grinned at him and he chuckled. "And technically, I'm _their_ side-kick."

"Yeah, _sure_." He chortled.

"What?" She raised her brows.

"Uh, it's just that I've known you for a _very_ long time and you have a hard time _not_ being the one in control," he replied.

"Oh, is that so?" She narrowed her eyes at him. She always did that when she got mad at him.

"Yeah," he asserted, crossing his arms stubbornly.

She was getting ready for a snappy comeback, but was abruptly interrupted by her phone. And then all the phones in the bar started to ring and she and Eddie shared a look. "This conversation is _not_ over," she said to Mike, grabbing her things and putting on her black leather jacket.

"Didn't expect it was," he replied with a grin as he watched her and several other cops storm out of the bar.

Iris sat down at the stool where Hayley had sat before grabbing her fruity drink again with a deep sigh and slurping on it with a pouty face before Mike placed another one in front of her.

* * *

Joe had texted her the details while she raced to S.T.A.R. labs to get her suit. The alleged meta-human had stolen a yellow Humvee. Whoever this guy was, he clearly had written douchebag all over his forehead.

She knew she was close to him when she heard several gunshots being fired, people came running at her and she was just in time when she saw the yellow Humvee racing at full-speed down the street and a little boy standing in the middle of it. She grabbed the boy and placed him on the side of the road before the car could even touch him.

The car broke through the police barrier almost effortlessly. She followed the car, racing past Joe and Eddie who had jumped to the side to safety. She ripped off the Humvee's rearview mirror to get his attention and the car drove into an alley before coming to a halt. She stepped in front of it.

"Step out of the vehicle!" She shouted at the young guy. He looked somehow familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before. He was big and bulky and his face already screamed douchebag at her – okay, maybe it was still the yellow Humvee, but he definitely wasn't her type.

"If you say so," he said with a wicked smile before he ripped off the car's door as if it was a piece of paper.

"Uh-oh," Hayley mumbled before the guy spun the door like an Olympic hammer thrower and flung it at her. She managed to duck and the door landed in the metal fence behind her.

He smiled at her when he saw her powers and slowly moved at her. She punched him in the jaw, his skin suddenly transforming into metal and she could feel her fingers crack at the impact. She groaned in pain. She hadn't imagined hitting someone hurt _this_ much.

He didn't even try to make a fast move. He looked at her like a giant that was about to squish an insect. His arm turned to metal again and he took a swing at her, flinging her across the Humvee's hood before she landed on the other side. She felt like a punching bag. Every bone in her body, shattered.

As she tried to get herself up again, he hunched down to her, looking at her unsympathetically. "Looks like you were born to take a beating," he said before striking out for another punch, but this time only shattering the concrete as he watched a lightning streak disappear into the distance.

* * *

"You know, for a high-tech lab, you'd think they'd lock their doors at least," Dean said.

The brothers walked down a long white corridor. They had driven straight to S.T.A.R. labs and walked right in. They hadn't heard anything from Hayley since she left New York yesterday and they were getting worried.

"Yeah, tell me about. I guess people are just really trusting in Central City," Sam said and watched as Dean rolled his eyes back.

They stopped when they approached a room with a long white desk, several computers set up on top of it. But that wasn't the only tech in the room, in fact the whole space was filled with devices they had never seen before. There was also a backroom that revealed a little bed and some medical supplies.

A short guy with shoulder-length black hair and a red-headed woman in a white lab coat were standing in front of a big screen, having a heated discussion.

"Check the math. Your dispersal models don't correlate," the woman said, gesturing at some numbers on the screen.

"Uh, they do if you factor in the seasonal fluctuations in reproduction cycles," the short guy said.

"What exactly are we debating?" A man in a wheelchair rolled into the room from another entrance. He was a thin man with glasses in his fifties.

"The average number of bugs Hayley swallows in a day of running," the young guy explained. The brothers shared a look. They had never thought about Hayley swallowing bugs before.

"I look forward to seeing you accept your Nobel," the man with glasses said with a laugh. "But for now, we have visitors." He turned around and smiled at the brothers. Dean couldn't shake the feeling, but something seemed off about this guy.

"Whoa, freakin' bejesus! How long have you guys been standing there?" The young guy asked as he finally noticed them.

"Who are you and how did you get in?" The woman asked.

"The door was open," Dean replied. The woman and the guy in the wheelchair sighed and looked over to the little guy, who laughed nervously.

"Cisco! You left the door open again?" The woman muttered.

"Why do you think it's me? It could've been Hayley...," Cisco replied and his eyes widened as he realized he said her name. Caitlin threw him a stern look. They were never ever to reveal Hayley's identity to anyone.

"Cisco!" She hissed at him.

"Gentlemen, why don't you tell us what you're doing here?" Dr. Wells asked them.

"Uh, hi, I'm Sam. This is my brother Dean," Sam introduced them and Caitlin smiled warmly at him when she realized who they were.

"Holy! You guys are the ghost busters!" Cisco exclaimed excitedly, almost throwing his slushy up in the air. The brothers looked at him confused.

"Wait, you know about us?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hell, yeah!" Cisco replied like it wasn't a big deal.

"Did Hayley tell you we were coming?" Sam asked.

"Uh, no," Caitlin replied.

"Doesn't matter. Any friends of Hayley's are friends of ours," Dr. Wells said with a smile.

"Great. Where is she?" Dean asked grumpily and Sam threw him a look.

"Sorry, I'm late guys," a familiar voice sounded behind the brothers and the eyes of the three strangers in front of them widened. Hayley leaned against the doorframe behind them. She was wearing her suit and breathing heavily. Her lip and chin were bleeding and her right eye was bruised. She smiled weakly at the brothers before her eyes went white and her body broke down to the floor.

"Oh my God, Hayley!" Caitlin shouted and ran over to the lifeless body. She was her personal doctor and the best one at that. She had stitched the red speedster together more times than she could count.

"Hayley, are you okay?"

* * *

She opened her eyes slowly. A bright light blinded her and she felt like that time she woke up from her coma. She heard several voices in the background before she could make out dark silhouettes standing above her.

"Hayley, can you hear me? Are you awake?" She blinked a few times before she recognized Dean. She looked around her and saw Sam, Cisco, Caitlin and Dr. Wells standing around her bed. Why was she even in a bed? Oh, _that_. Her head started to hurt when she thought about that night.

"Mmm, that feels like a bad hangover," she muttered and the worried faces around her changed into frowns and sighs of relief.

"What the hell happened?" Dean asked. He looked angry, but then again, he usually did when he looked at her.

"I hit something," she mumbled, still very much aware of all the pain in her body.

"You have 13 fractures. That's a new record, and that's just in your hand. You also have a concussion, three cracked ribs, and a bruised spleen. Even with your powers, you'll need a few hours to heal," Caitlin scolded her.

"What exactly did you hit?" Dr. Wells asked.

"A man. A big, bad man," she replied but knew that answer wouldn't satisfy anyone. "His skin changed when I hit him. Like, it turned to metal."

"Interesting. A man of steel," Dr. Wells mused and Dean glanced at him. How could anything be interesting that hurt her so badly? Did they not care about her?

"So you went after a meta-human alone?" Dean asked, raising his brows.

"Dude, why didn't you call us?" Cisco chimed in.

"I didn't know what he was. It was just a suspicion and I had to do something," she said defensively.

"You're lucky he didn't knock out your teeth. Those puppies don't grow back," Cisco replied jokingly.

"The strange thing is I feel like I knew him," Hayley said and they looked at her.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"He said something that was familiar. But he's gonna hurt someone if we don't stop him. So how do I fight a guy that's made of steel?" She looked at Dr. Wells. He usually provided them with the solution they needed – that _she_ needed.

"We will find a way. Tonight, you heal," Caitlin said with a warm smile. She loved that smile – it always soothed her.

* * *

She still felt like crap the next morning when she walked into CCPD. Joe was at his desk as usual, headphones in and his eyes stuck to the screen. He closed his laptop when she approached.

"Hey. What happened to you last night?" He asked, worry in his eyes.

"Got beat up by a steel-plated sociopath. Good times," she joked. She saw his eyes widen and spun around before her smile turned into a frown – the brothers were all dressed up in suits again.

"Hell, no. You two yahoos get outta here!" Joe told them. They looked at him puzzled before Dean smirked at him.

"Detective West! Nice to see you again," Dean said with a teasing smile while Sam stood there awkwardly.

"What are you two doing here?" Hayley whispered as she pulled the brothers away from the prying ears of cops.

"What do you mean? We wanna help with this meta-human thing. You clearly need it," Dean replied and Hayley glared at him.

"I don't need your help," she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Well, I said the same thing to you and you ignored me, so…" Dean argued before he just walked away. Hayley's mouth dropped to the floor – beating her with her own weapons, how could he?

"So he _is_ a meta-human? The guy from last night?" Joe asked and Hayley turned her attention back to him. She nodded. "That particle accelerator's the gift that keeps on giving," he said with a deep sigh. "You okay?"

"Relatively," she replied with a bitter shrug. Her body was healed, but her mind was an entirely different thing.

"Any idea who he is?" Sam asked.

"He stole the Humvee and evaded capture. Perp yanked three ATMs after he boosted the vehicle. ATM security cameras caught him on video. We got a hit in the database," Joe replied as he put the files on his desk for them to look at. "Tony Woodward. He's got a history of violence, petty theft, assault, going way back to juvie. Dropped off the radar fourteen months ago. Looks like he's back."

"I know him. He went to middle school with me and Iris," Hayley said. And not just any kid – he had made her life miserable several times. He was one of the reasons she graduated early from high school.

"Joe, we found the stolen Humvee in the alley at Fremont and Lawrence," Eddie said as he came running up to them. "And Allen, we need you down there to do your thing. Ah, agents! Glad you're back. We could really use your help with this meta-human," Eddie said with a smile at them. Dean grinned at Hayley at the invitation of Eddie and she rolled her eyes.

* * *

When they arrived at the crime scene, they immediately saw the bright yellow Humvee parked at the side of the road, where Tony had left it last night.

"God, what a douchebag," Dean mumbled as he saw the car. It was an insult to even call this awful thing a car.

"Yeah." He heard four voices agree behind him.

"What we got?" Dean asked, roleplaying his best FBI agent as he turned to Eddie.

"The rig Tony Woodward boosted last night. No sign of the stolen ATMs. Probably got those where he's holed up, though he's gonna have one hell of a time breaking 'em open," Eddie said as he walked over to the car. The door of the monstrosity had been ripped out, the trunk was open and in it were a few kegs with _Rusty Iron Ale_.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Hayley mumbled as she pulled out some tools from her lab bag.

"So what do you think?" Eddie asked, watching her closely as she observed the crime scene.

"Judging by the mud and kegs I'd say he got hammered, stole a big-ass truck, and went joyriding. I bet the kegs are stolen, too," she replied as she got up from the ground again.

"Rusty Iron Ale," Dean read from one of the barrels.

"It's a micro brewed right over in…," she started but Eddie interrupted her.

"Keystone, I know the place. Let's check it out," he suggested enthusiastically, looking at them. Eddie knew about meta-humans, but he didn't know about her being the Flash. Working this case with Eddie would definitely be a challenge.

"Okay, sure," she still agreed.

"Yeah, you three go ahead. I need a minute here with Agent Hetfield," Joe said and threw Dean a look. Hayley looked suspiciously at them, but let it go for now. She had noticed Joe had been up to something the last few days. And she would definitely find out what he was doing once Tony was in jail. Now, she had other things to worry about.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," Dean told them and Sam threw him a look, but Dean just shrugged at his brother before he followed Detective West.

* * *

Joe let Dean into his house and walked over to the dining room table and threw an old box on it.

"You need my help with a case? Is it monster related?" Dean asked as he looked at the box. It seemed a little dusty.

"Not quite. I recently reopened one of my old cases and I need someone who I can trust to help me with this thing," Joe said as he sat down at the table and gestured for Dean to sit down as well.

"And you trust me of all people?" Dean asked with a chuckle, but that only earned him a stern look from Joe.

"Well, you managed to keep my daughter alive until now," he deadpanned.

"And believe me that ain't easy," Dean said and Joe laughed.

"Yeah, good luck with that. Those girls can be hella stubborn," he said as he thought of his two daughters. He would never let anything happen to them. "Look son, I've always had a very simple set of beliefs. Gravity makes things fall. Water makes things wet. And up until last year I thought the fastest person could run a mile in four minutes. Not four seconds," Joe said and Dean nodded understandingly. It sure was a lot to take in. "I need someone, who understands that there are things out there that can't be explained."

"What's the case?" He asked, shifting into his hunter mode.

"The murder of Hayley's mother," Joe replied. Dean looked at him surprised.

"You have something? She didn't tell me about it," Dean said as he opened the box and took out the files.

"That's because she doesn't know I'm lookin' into it and she's not gonna find out," Joe replied and looked at him firmly.

"You want me to lie to her about this? Why?"

"Look, I know my daughter and she seems strong, but she struggled with this all her life," Joe responded.

"You don't want her to get her hopes up," Dean finished his thought.

"She just started to be okay with it," he explained with a sigh as he remembered all the times he went looking for her when she ran away from this house, trying to see her real father. "And there's something else – I think Wells is involved," Joe said and Dean looked at him.

"The guy in the wheelchair at S.T.A.R. labs? You think he killed Hayley's Mom somehow?"

Joe nodded. "I already talked to him. I don't know if he killed Hannah Allen. His alibi checks out, but I can't shake the feeling he's hiding something."

"Yeah, I got the same one," Dean replied. He had known something was fishy about the guy the moment he had rolled in. "But how do you know he's involved in the murder?"

"I had my suspicions about Wells and after I talked to him, asked him a few questions – yellow lightning came to the house. It tried to take all the evidence, but I had kept copies. It stuck a photo to the wall of Iris, threatened to kill her if I don't stop looking." Joe's eyes looked pained at the memory. It had happened a few weeks ago. It had looked exactly like what Hayley had always described as a kid and all these years he had just brushed her off. He still felt guilty and that's why he wouldn't give up now.

"But if that's true, shouldn't we warn Hayley? I mean she could be in danger," Dean argued.

"Wells is like a mentor to her. To all of them. That's why we can't just get in there empty handed. Otherwise she wouldn't believe it," Joe said with a sigh.

"Yeah, she believes too much in the good of people. Okay, so what do we do?" He enthusiastically clapped his hands together, which earned him another glare from Joe. Nothing could cheer this guy up, but Dean had to admit he was a great father.

"You're doing nothing. Let me handle the evidence part. I just want you to keep an eye on Hayley and Wells. Tell me if something's going on. And don't let her start snooping," Joe told him as he got up from his chair again. He handed him the case files and an USB drive. "Look at it. You've seen more crazy things than me, maybe you see something I don't."

* * *

Iris had just finished her shift at Jitters. She took off her apron before she poured herself some coffee in a to-go cup.

"Iris? Long time no see." She turned around to a tall, muscular guy. She recognized him immediately from high school. "I gotta say, Iris, you look amazing," Tony said with a smile as his eyes wandered up and down her body.

"Thanks, Tony. Um, you too," she replied, shifting uncomfortably. He had had a thing for her in school, but she could never get over the way he had treated her sister.

"Oh, yeah. I keep in shape. I got a gym at my place. Been living out in Keystone on the West Side, and you should, uh, you should stop by sometime," he said flirtingly. But his attempts didn't come off as charming, but rather threatening.

"So, uh, can I get you a drink?" Iris asked politely, trying to change the subject.

"No, I came to see you," he replied and a shudder ran down her spine as he stepped closer to her. What could he possibly want from her? She hadn't seen him in years.

"How did you know I was here?" She raised her brows at him.

"I've been reading up on The Streak. Found your little blog. Why are you writing about this girl?" She swallowed hard. Why on earth would Tony be interested in her sister's alter ego?

"People say that she's a hero," Iris replied firmly.

"I say she's a coward, and I happen to know that she took a beating last night and ran off like a little girl. You should write about that," he told her angrily. "Do you have any idea who leather girl is?"

"No clue," Iris said with a shrug. "So, uhm, if you don't want a drink I should probably get back to work," she lied, trying to bring some distance between them again.

"Actually I'd prefer to buy you a drink. What time you off?" He smirked at her, leaning against the counter.

"Thanks, Tony, but I don't think my _boyfriend_ would approve. He's a cop, like my dad," Iris replied, her voice carrying anger now.

"I never really did like cops too much," Tony mumbled.

"Iris!" Her colleague whispered behind Tony and gestured to the TV screen on the other side of the wall. Iris glanced up just enough to see a news report about Tony being wanted by the police.

"Well he's picking me up for the policeman's ball. Wall to wall cops. Can't swing a cat," she stammered nervously as she fumbled for her phone in her pockets. "I should probably call him to see where he is…" Her hands were shaky as she looked through her contacts to find Eddie's number.

Tony looked up to the TV screen, realizing Iris was going to call the cops on him any second now. "Give me the phone, Iris." She looked up at him hesitantly. "Now!" He yelled at her, balling his hands into fists, heat and anger rising up in him. She handed him the phone quickly and watched as his arm turned into a silvery metal. He almost pulverized the phone with his bare hands before dumping it into the tip jar. "I'm sorry. Uh, for the damage," he said calmly now, pulling out a roll of dollar bills and throwing it on the counter before Iris. "We'll pick this up some other time," he said as he left Jitters.

When she watched him disappear out the glass door, she remembered to breath again.

* * *

Sam, Eddie and Hayley approached two men loading a truck outside of the brewery in Keystone. Hayley was glad Eddie didn't ask any questions on their drive here. Sam didn't exactly look like an experienced FBI agent, but more like a school boy playing dress-up with his messy haircut and a youthful innocence still radiating from his face.

"Gentlemen, CCPD and FBI," Eddie said, holding up his badge to the two men. Sam did the same, holding his badge up for them to see. The two men stopped loading the truck and shared a look. "Any chance some of your merchandise was stolen last night?"

"No, I don't think so," a scrawny looking guy replied. He looked a little skittish. Hayley knew that look too well. Everyone who had something to hide, acted like this when questioned by the police.

"How about this guy? You seen him?" Sam asked and held up a photo of Tony. The guy looked hesitantly at the three of them, trying hard to come up with an answer.

"You know Tony, don't you?" Hayley asked with narrowed eyes. Before she had finished her sentence, he bolted out of the truck and ran past them down an alley.

"Hey. Allen, come on!" Eddie shouted as he and Sam started chasing after him.

They ran down the alley before Hayley stopped at a crossing. Sam still running after the guy and Eddie, looked back at her before he saw her disappear into lightning into another direction.

Hayley managed to run in front of the guy. He came running at her around the corner, still seeing no sight of Sam and Eddie but she knew they wouldn't be far behind him. She hesitated. There was no way she could use her powers without Eddie seeing her, so she did the only reasonable thing she could do – she stopped and blocked the way.

Sam and Eddie came running around the corner now too, just as she watched the guy form his hand into a fist before taking a swing at her. She fell to the ground, her chin hurting like hell and the guy stumbled over her.

"Allen, you okay?" Eddie asked as he ran past her.

"Oh, never better," Hayley said as she lay on the ground, clutching her chin. Sam ran to her, holding out his hand and helping to her feet. He looked at her with a sympathetic smile. He knew there wasn't anything else she could have done and he admired her for taking the punch like a hunter would have.

"Get up," Eddie ordered the runner, grabbing the guy's arms and rising him to his feet.

"I didn't do nothing, man!" He exclaimed defensively.

"So why'd you run?" Sam asked.

"Look, it was an accident!"

"What was?" Eddie asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly at the man.

"Tony falling, okay? But I swear to God, we didn't kill him!" The guy assured them.

"Keep talking," Eddie ordered him.

"About fourteen months ago, Keystone Ironworks. Boss is handing out pink slips. Tony gets his, and he just snapped. He started beating the crap out of the guy. We pulled him off, and then the lights went out. Some kind of power surge. And then Tony went over the railing right into a vat of molten scrap. Just gone," the guy explained.

"Lucky for you he's still alive," Eddie said.

"What?" The guy looked at them confused, but got ignored.

"How'd you get in front of us?" Eddie asked, looking at her.

"Shortcut," Hayley replied a little out of breath. Eddie seemed pleased with that answer and she and Sam shared a relieved look.

* * *

Hayley and Sam had managed to get rid of Eddie before heading over to S.T.A.R. labs to test the gravel she found in Tony's car.

Dean was already waiting for them in the cortex, swirling around in a white chair and playing with a boomerang. "You guys have some cool stuff here," he said mesmerized by all their fancy weapons. He sounded like a kid in a toy store.

"I thought I told you not to touch anything," Cisco said as he walked out from the med bay, taking the boomerang out of his hands again. Dean's smile faded as his new toy was ripped from him.

"I see you made friends," Hayley said and Cisco's and Dean's eyes wandered over to her. Sam stood behind her, grinning at his brother.

"Hey, you're back. Thank God. I was having trouble keeping him away from the arsenal, especially the _cold gun_ ," Cisco said and looked over to Dean, who grinned at him widely. Hayley shook her head with a chuckle.

"Did you guys find anything?" Dean asked.

"Well, apparently Tony fell into some molten metal on the day of the explosion. It's probably where he got his powers from. We found some gravel in his car," she said and held up the plastic bag. Cisco grabbed it from her hands and disappeared into his own lab to test it.

"Hey, what did Joe want to talk to you about?" Hayley asked, raising her eyebrows suspiciously at Dean.

He looked up at her with a shrug. "Nothing. He just thought he had a case with a monster involved. Sounded more like crazy human to me. So nothing to worry about, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded, even though she knew he had just lied to her. What she didn't know was _why_. She looked at Sam, but he just shook his head at her. He had no idea why his older brother was behaving this oddly.

Cisco walked back into the cortex and Dean was seemingly pleased with the interruption. One more look into her blue eyes and he would've have given in and told her everything. He hated lying to her. He hadn't known how much he would hate it when he had agreed to this whole thing just an hour before.

"Hayley, check it out. The gravel you pulled from Tony's ride? It contains 76.8% hematite. Consistent with the mines at Keystone Ironworks. Which closed down fourteen months ago. It's the perfect hideout," Cisco informed them, just as Iris walked into the cortex.

"Tony just came by Jitters to visit me," she declared and Hayley spun around and looked at her sister in horror, her eyes wide.

"What?! Are you okay?" Hayley asked. She was upset. Tony could've hurt her sister. She needed to put an end to this.

"Cop's daughter. I can handle myself," Iris replied confidently and Hayley sighed.

Dean rolled his eyes. _Poor Joe_ , he thought. His daughters seemed to have a habit of getting themselves into trouble, never backing down from a fight. "Not with this guy," Dean chimed in and Hayley looked at him gratefully. He smiled a little – did she even realize she was doing the same thing to him every single time they worked a case?

"He didn't want to hurt me. He wanted to impress me," Iris said and Hayley threw her head back.

"Right! He had a crush on you in school," she said, realizing.

"Yeah, but he's fixated on you now. And not in a good way," she said, looking worriedly at her sister.

"Do you know where he went?" Sam asked Iris.

"He said he had a place out in west Keystone. Bragged about how big it was, but I have no idea where," she replied.

"I do," Hayley said and Dean frowned at her. She wouldn't dare to go after him now, would she?

"Is he the meta you and Dad have been looking for?" She asked and Hayley nodded.

"Yes, and writing about me is what brought him to you," she hissed angrily at her sister. She had never liked it that Iris wrote about her. As soon as she published the blog, her sister had made herself a target for every criminal that ever wanted to come after the Flash.

"I know, but maybe I could talk…," Iris tried to suggest but was immediately shut down.

"No! He's too dangerous," Hayley said and before anyone else could start an argument with her, she raced off.

Cisco and Caitlin immediately moved over to one of the computers, following a little red dot on the map on the screen in front of them.

" _Hayley, talk to us. What are you doing_?" She heard Caitlin's voice in her earpiece.

" _Dude, don't run angry_ ," Cisco said. " _We don't know how to defeat him yet._ "

But she didn't stop until she reached Keystone Ironworks. The place looked abandoned and dusty. Crates and boxes were lying randomly around. She stepped carefully around the garbage scattered across the floor. She noticed some empty beer cans lying around along with some take-out boxes. Someone obviously seemed to be living here, but the place seemed empty for now.

"This is definitely the place," she informed the team through her speakers, her eyes still wandering around, looking for clues.

Suddenly she felt a hot breath brushing against her neck. She turned around, only to find her nose a few inches away from Tony's chest. He towered over her like a hurricane and before she could even react, he flung her across the room.

"You're trespassing, freak," he said as he slowly made his way over to her, but he stopped a few inches before her. Her body felt broken and she couldn't get herself to get up. She watched as Tony moved his hand over to a heavy metal rack right next to her. "There's nowhere left to run," she heard him say as he pushed the rack onto her, burying her underneath it.

* * *

"Hayley!" Dean yelled as they finally made it to the old ironworks. They heard the fight over the speakers in the cortex. His heart had dropped when there were no more sounds coming. It had taken them forever to get here, he almost knew they were too late.

"Hayley, where are you?" Caitlin shouted behind him.

"Caitlin, over here!" Cisco shouted from the other side of the hall.

Dean immediately followed his voice before he found Cisco and Sam standing in front of a fallen down rack. He swallowed hard when he noticed Hayley underneath it – motionless.

"Hayley? Please say something," Caitlin said as she pushed past the three boys and knelt down to Hayley's side. "Say something so we know you're okay."

"Ouch," was all they heard and they sighed with relief. _She was okay_.

"Get her out of there," Caitlin ordered them, looking back at Sam and Dean. The brothers instantly followed her command and pulled the rack off of Hayley.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Dean yelled his lungs out as he angrily paced the cortex. He didn't care that everyone was watching them right now. "You almost got yourself killed. _Again_."

She didn't look at him instead she just kept spinning circles on the little swivel chair she was sitting on while Dean threw his fit. "I'll heal," she muttered defensively.

"You can't heal when you're fucking dead," he argued angrily. How could she still not get that? Instead she just rolled her eyes back. He swore in that moment he would lock her up in the S.T.A.R. labs prison himself, just to keep her from doing any more stupid stuff like this. "He could've killed you," he said, his voice suddenly calmer again and she stopped spinning and looked up at him, tears filling her eyes.

She got up from her chair, her hands balled into fists. "I know, alright? I fucking _know_!" She yelled at him. "In the past 36 hours I've had my ass handed to me twice by the guy that tortured me as a kid. I couldn't stop him then, and I can't stop him now! Even with my powers I'm still powerless against him." She let out a heavy breath and stared at him. She wasn't angry anymore. She was scared and helpless – feelings she was usually able to hide well, but that suddenly came crashing down like a wave inside of her.

"Not necessarily," Dr. Wells said, gathering their attention back. "Cisco?" Cisco jumped to his side, ready for his task. "Any material, if struck at a high enough velocity can be compromised," Dr. Wells explained.

"We ran an analysis on the metal in Tony's footprint," Cisco said and turned on the screen. "Based on its density and atomic structure, if you impact it at just the right angle, at just the right speed, you could do some serious damage."

"How fast would I have to go?" Hayley asked.

"Factoring in the metal's tensile strength, estimated dermal thickness, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, you'd have to hit him at approximately," he explained as he typed in various variations. "Mach 1.1," Cisco finally answered as the number popped up on the screen. Hayley threw her head back and Dean threw her a confused look. He hadn't the slightest idea how fast that was.

"You want Hayley to hit something at 800 miles an hour?" Caitlin asked him incredulously.

"837, actually," Cisco clarified and Dean let out a low whistle before everyone in the room threw him a look and he smiled awkwardly at them.

"That's faster than the speed of sound," Caitlin argued.

"I _know_. She would create a sonic boom, which, as I've said before, would be _awesome_ ," Cisco said excitedly, his eyes glowing at the prospect of it.

"I've never gone that fast," Hayley replied worriedly.

" _Yet_ ," Wells said with a smile and Dean threw him a look.

"I can't believe we're actually entertaining this idea," Caitlin said, throwing her hands in the air. She was always the voice of reason of the team, but she never had much luck convincing them otherwise. "I mean, she'd need a straight shot from miles away."

"Yeah, 5.3 miles, theoretically," Cisco replied, taking a sip from his slushy. "Do it right, you'll take him down."

"Do it _wrong_ , you'll shatter every bone in your body," Caitlin warned her.

She glanced back at the brothers behind her, hoping to find the answer in their faces but all she found were worried looks.

"Which is why we need to train you," Cisco said with a grin.

* * *

"I call him Girder," Cisco said as he pulled of a white sheet, revealing a rather unstable-looking robot underneath it. "We're gonna train you, man. _Karate Kid_ style." He beamed at her.

"For the record – not my idea," Caitlin said and Hayley laughed.

"Your childhood nemesis is now an unstoppable meta-human. That is seriously messed up," Cisco said.

"I had a childhood nemesis. Lexi La Roche. She used to put gum in my hair," Caitlin chimed in.

"Jake Puckett. If I didn't let him copy my homework he'd give me a swirly," Cisco said and shuddered at the thought.

"Dirk MacGregor. He was just an ass," Sam joined their conversation and Dean threw him a look. Hayley smiled at them. She knew they were trying to make her feel better.

"Great, now that we've established that you're all uber nerds, how is this thing gonna help her beat this douchebag?" Dean asked and looked at Cisco.

"Glad you asked. Fighting is physics. It's not about strength. It's not about size. It's about energy and power," Cisco said and Dean rolled his eyes back with a loud sigh. They would get her killed a third time. "Channel your speed the right way and you can totally take this bad boy down. Now obviously your Girder is a moving target. So…," Cisco continued, ignoring Dean's mocking antics and grabbing the controller of the robot. He moved the joystick around and as he did, so did Girder.

Hayley looked skeptically at the robot in front of her. "I have ice and bandages standing by." She heard Caitlin sympathetically whisper in her ear. _Thank the gods for Caitlin_ , Hayley thought as she sighed relieved.

She nodded confidently at Cisco who started moving Girder. The robot's arms came at her but she was fast enough to duck and hit the metal body a couple of times before she felt one of its arms striking her right in her left shoulder. She fell to the floor, clasping her arm in pain. "I'm pretty sure I just dislocated my shoulder."

* * *

She had seen the insides of the med bay a lot the last couple of days. It felt like the hundredth time that she had found herself on the hard little bed today. Dean's face was still a harsh scowl. It had remained that way ever since they had entered S.T.A.R. labs. He had even scared away the others, who had sought refuge in Cisco's lab, only Caitlin remaining at her side and tending to her injuries.

"What?" She finally asked the cold marble statue in front of her.

"You still don't get it, huh?" He just retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a mocking smile.

"Get what?" Her voice sounded aggravated now.

"Okay, not gonna lie – this is going be quick but extremely painful," Caitlin interrupted their fight as she carefully took Hayley's arm in her hands. And for a second, Caitlin wasn't sure if she meant locating Hayley's shoulder back in its place or their fight. The two looked at her briefly before turning their attention back to each other.

"You know for a smart-ass, you sure take a long time to catch on," he replied.

"Oh, that's _very_ insightful, Dean. Thank you," she mocked him.

"You can't just run in anywhere half-cocked! If you wanted to die so badly, I'd gladly just throw you under the next bus," he yelled and didn't even regret it. Not in that moment, at least.

"Oh why don't you!" She yelled back at him and Caitlin's eyes widened at their words.

"Okay, ready or not," Caitlin said, already knowing her attempt on changing the subject would fail. "Three, two," she counted down as she tightly gripped Hayley's left arm.

"And while you're at it, why don't you just try to shoot me again too, huh?" She taunted him further.

"One," Caitlin finished her countdown and pulled Hayley's arm with all the strength she had.

"GODDAMNIT!" Hayley screamed out in pain. "You're such a gigantic freaking ass sometimes!"

Caitlin let go of her arm and she let out a heavy, frustrated breath. Her shoulder was hurting but she was too upset to even notice it. He just stared at her patiently like she hadn't just thrown an enormous outburst.

"Are you done?" He looked past her at Caitlin.

"She seems good to go," she replied simply, not sure what else she was supposed to say.

"Great," he said and walked out of the med bay.

Hayley and Caitlin shared a confused look before Hayley jumped up from the bed and followed Dean. "Where the hell are you going now?" She asked as she stormed after him. He ignored her as he walked out of the cortex towards the exit. "Dean? Dean!"

* * *

They stood in the middle of the gym at CCPD. Dean had forced her to change into gym appropriate clothes.

"What the hell are we doing here?" She said as she looked around the room. Weird looking machines stood all around her.

"It's the gym," he replied.

"I've never even been here before," she said and he frowned at her.

"What do you mean? It's literally right next to your lab," he argued. She looked at him just the same – like a little lost deer in the woods.

"So?"

He sighed. "Never mind. I'm gonna teach you how to fight," he declared.

"You what?" She laughed. _Was he serious?_

"You want my help or not?" He raised his brow at her expectantly and she rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'm listening," she caved.

"Okay, so fighting – it's about technique and patience. You have to know _where_ to hit and most importantly _how_ ," he explained as he walked over to the punching bag. "Most guys waste a lot of energy in throwing many punches, but really, all you need is _one._ You just gotta make it count."

"Did your Dad teach you all this?"

"Yeah, pretty much," he replied, a smile crossing his face at the memory. He handed her a pair of MMA gloves and helped her slip into them, making sure they sat tightly around her wrists.

He pushed her a little to the left, so she faced the punching bag. She brought her arms into a fighting position and looked at Dean for confirmation. "Higher," he said as he moved her hands up to her face. "You'd wanna protect your face, right?" He smiled at her.

"Good point," she agreed with a chuckle.

He placed one of his hands on her shoulder and the other one on her waist as he pushed her feet apart a little with his leg. As he looked back up at her, he noticed she was staring at him and for the first time, he realized just how close they were. Their heads were almost touching, his hands were everywhere on her body and his leg was between hers.

His green eyes pierced right at her. Her skin tingled where his hands rested. She had never thought about him that way before no matter how many times he had touched her in the past. They flirted a lot sure, but both of them had always made sure to never cross a line with the other one. And now, both of them seemed dangerously close to crossing all of them at once.

The voice of reason yelled at her in her head and she gathered her posture, breaking their gaze and focusing her eyes on the punching bag in front of her instead.

Dean let his hands fall off her body and took a few steps back. "You wanna make sure you stand grounded," he said, clearing his throat a little. "No tiptoeing, otherwise your opponent has an easy time throwing you off your balance," he continued like nothing had happened and she nodded at him.

"Stay grounded – got it," she repeated confidently as he walked behind the punching bag, gripping it and holding it in place.

"Okay, and most importantly – the thumb is outside the fist, not inside," he said and looked down at her fists. _No wonder she broke so many fingers the first time_ , he thought and shook his head as she adjusted her hands into the right position. "Okay, so, you don't hit the punching bag."

"I don't?" She raised her brows questioningly at him and he frowned.

"Of course, you do. Let me finish. The punching bag is your target, right? Most people make the mistake of slowing down before they hit something. But you punch like your target is actually six feet behind your real target," he explained.

"So right through?" She looked at him for the first time again since their moment.

"Right through," he assured her with a nod and held the bag ready for her to hit.

She hit the bag and he could feel the impact of her punch on his own body. He looked at her with a grin. "Harder," he said and watched as her eyes narrowed. She was getting angry again. _Good_ , he thought. She would need the anger. She hit the bag again, this time a little harder but he knew she could do more damage. "Harder!" He ordered her and this time he couldn't even see her hand, it moved so fast. The punching bag hit his lungs, the impact threw him back and he rested his hands on his thighs as he watched the sand run out of the bag before he caught his breath again.

"Oh God, I'm sorry!" She said as she ran to his side.

"Whew!" He whistled and laughed. "Are you kidding me? That was awesome," he said and she beamed proudly at him.

Eddie came running into the gym, interrupting them. "Allen, Hetfield. The unit I put on Iris has been attacked. She's missing," he said, desperation in his eyes.

Hayley looked back at Dean. "Go! I'll call your Dad and catch up with you," he told her and watched her as she ran after Eddie.

* * *

"Let's adjust the impact angle by 2 degrees, up the speed to 838," Cisco said as he played with the variables of the speed equation. "Bam," he exclaimed as he hit enter and watched as the little version of Hayley raced against Tony on the screen. "Ouch," he mumbled when little Hayley exploded into a million pieces before his eyes.

"Ouch?" Caitlin looked at him in disbelief.

"You have a plan B?" Sam asked as he looked from Caitlin to Cisco, who both answered with a shrug. He frowned.

"Guys, you there?" They heard Hayley's voice in the hallway as she stormed into the cortex.

"Yeah, what's up?" Cisco asked.

"Tony took Iris. I need you to do whatever you can to help me find her. All right? Satellites, security cameras. Hack 'em all," she ordered them and Caitlin and Cisco already moved to separate computer screens, following her orders.

"Where's Dean? You didn't kill him, did you? Not that I'd blame you," Sam said and she giggled.

"No. He's getting Joe and they're meeting us here," she replied, just as Dean and Joe entered the cortex.

"Anything?" Joe asked worriedly. He couldn't lose his daughter.

"No, not yet. We're gonna find her. I promise," Hayley said as she turned to her adoptive father and he nodded. He knew the only person capable of saving his daughter, was his other one.

"Hayley, there's a fire alarm call at Carmichael Elementary," Cisco said.

"That's yours and Iris' old school," Joe said.

"And Tony's," she added. He had taken her to the place where it had all started years ago. If she wasn't so scared and worried, she would have laughed at the poetry in all of this.

* * *

She raced to the school as fast as she could. This time wouldn't be like the last time she had tried to save Iris and failed miserably. This time she was prepared.

"Tony, turn yourself in before things get worse. It's not too late," Iris tried to reason with him.

"Yeah, it is. Cops are already looking for me, so get ready to cover the showdown of a lifetime 'cause I'm not going out without a fight," he told her.

"Good, 'cause you just found one." Iris smiled at the girl in the mask that appeared behind Tony.

"You just won't stay dead," Tony said as he walked closer to her, anger in his face. "Come to save your little fan girl?" He grabbed Iris by her arm and yanked her around.

"This is between us. Let her go," she said. She didn't know exactly what it was about this suit that made her want to be a martyr every single time.

"Oh, I could, but I'd rather make her watch while I break every bone in your body," he threatened and shoved Iris to the ground before turning his skin into metal.

Hayley slid through Tony's feet, avoiding his punch and raced to Iris, snapping her away from him and safely placing her by the lockers, far away. "Wait here," she told her sister and Iris nodded at her.

Tony came at her with another fist and she ducked just in time and sped behind him before kicking his behind. "Too slow, tin man," she teased him and he cried out in frustration. He tried to hit her again and she gracefully ditched that punch too as his fist hit the wall. "I've known guys like you. Peaked in high school. Never got over it. All these powers, and look at you! Bully then, bully _now_ ," she said before grabbing the metal pole of an American flag that hung in the hallways. She swung the pole at his face, but he grabbed it and instead threw her around, flinging her from wall to wall until she crashed against the lockers. She hardly managed to get up in time before Tony would've stuck that pole right through her. She ran out of the school as fast as she could.

* * *

"She's hurt," Caitlin said as she watched Hayley's vitals drop drastically, everything blinking in a panic on her screen and she looked back at Cisco and the Winchesters, who looked worriedly back at her.

"She made it out," Cisco said relieved as he watched the little red down move on the map.

"Barely," Sam added. "Why did she stop?" He asked as he looked at Cisco's screen.

"She's miles away. 5.3 miles away," Cisco said, realizing what his friend was about to do.

"Hayley, wait!" Caitlin said into the microphone, hoping the speedster would listen to her at least for once.

"No way. She's gonna do it! Go, man, go!" Cisco yelled into the microphone excitedly and Caitlin slapped his arm at his words of encouragement.

* * *

Car alarms were blaring as she raced past the parked cars in the streets. She was so fast, all the glass of the windows she passed, shattered into a million pieces.

She could feel the speed rushing through her veins. Electricity filled her whole body. She felt weightless and free. Almost like she was flying. Her feet moved off the ground as she reached the school doors and she stretched her arm out, ready to knock him out.

Her knuckles felt cold when her fingers hit Tony's cool metal skin. She felt it change underneath her touch and he was shoved to the floor as she flew past him in one swift motion and landed next to him.

" _Supersonic punch, baby!"_ She heard Cisco's scream ringing in her ears.

Tony groaned in pain and Hayley clutched her broken hand. To her surprise, he got up again, looking even more determined to kill her than he had before she punched him. But before he could even take a step closer towards her, Iris knocked him out cold.

Iris cried put in pain and she grabbed her hand now too as she fell to the floor next to her sister. "Nice cross," Hayley complimented her with a smile.

"Yeah, I think I broke my hand," she said with a snigger.

"Oh, me too," Hayley said and the sisters looked at each other before they burst into laughter.

* * *

Tony was already safely imprisoned in one of the S.T.A.R. labs jail cells when he came to consciousness again. He instantly was up on his feet, banging is fists against the glass door – it wouldn't budge or break. "Hey! What is this? Where the hell am I?" He yelled angrily at the dark silhouette, standing outside his little cell.

"Somewhere you'll never hurt anyone ever again," Hayley replied.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" He asked.

"You know who I am," she said as she pulled her hoody back and stepped out of the shadows in front of him.

"Allen?" Tony looked at her stunned.

"The thing that happened to you, Tony, it happened to me too, but it didn't just give us abilities. It made us more of who we are. You got _strong_. I got _fast_. Fast enough to beat you," she said with a smile crossing her face. "You used your gift to hurt people. Not anymore," she told him before turning her back on him for good. She closed the accelerator's doors again, still hearing Tony call after her.

"Dude, that had to feel great," Cisco said with a wide grin and she smiled at him as she approached her friends, who had waited outside for her.

"You have no idea," she replied with a satisfied grin.

"Almost as good as proving me wrong about the supersonic punch?" He raised his brows, looking at her expectantly. He had waited all night to hear about it.

"Actually, that part hurt. Like, a lot," she said with a chuckle. "But I couldn't have done it without you guys." She looked around her friends with a grateful smile.

"All I want to know is which childhood bully are we gonna take down next? Mine or Caitlin's? Sam's?" Cisco asked.

"Okay, yeah." Hayley laughed and shook her head at him.

"I vote mine. What? Guys, this is not a joke," he called after Caitlin and Sam as he followed them to the cortex again.

"You did good," Dean said as everyone else had left.

"Thanks – for helping me and...all," she stammered out with a nervous smile.

"Yeah, anytime." He smiled back at her. "Don't let this win go to your head though," he reprimanded her.

"No, I think I've learned my lesson. This time, at least," she replied and he chuckled. "So…drinks at the bar before we hit the road again? I wanna say goodbye to everybody before we leave."

"Yeah, sure. There's just some stuff I have to do back at the motel, but I'll catch up with you guys," he said and she threw him a suspicious look. Turning down drinks for work was something Dean Winchester would never do, but before she could ask him a million follow-up questions, he had disappeared on her.

* * *

Dean sat down at the little table in their motel room. He had placed the box of evidence Joe had given him in front of him. He had stared at it for a full ten minutes before he got himself to open it. He took out the little USB flash drive and stuck it into Sam's computer. A folder with various files popped open and he double-clicked on one of the interrogation video clips.

It opened and an eleven-year-old Hayley appeared on the screen. She sat on a chair, her feet tangling in the air. Joe sat across the table from her. The room was grey and sterile, but little Hayley didn't seem bothered at all by the cold surroundings.

" _There was lightning in my house. Yellow and red lightning_ ," she told Joe determinedly. Her blue eyes were desperate as she looked at him through glasses that were way too big for her. She had just lost her mother and now she was about to loose her father as well. " _There was a man in yellow, then I was on the street. I don't know how I got there. Please, you have to believe me_!" She begged him, tears filling her eyes.

Dean closed the laptop and threw the stick back into the box and sighed frustrated. No one had ever believed him or Sam when they told people about monsters. He wanted to help her. But how was he supposed to do that? He had no clue.

* * *

Cisco, Caitlin, Iris, Eddie, Sam and Hayley had found their way to the bar. She looked over to Mike behind the bar, whose face immediately lit up at the sight of her.

"I'll grab us some drinks," she told her friends as she made her way over to him with a wide smile and sat down at the bar stool in front of him, while the others sat down at a booth near by.

Dean joined them soon after, finding his brother sitting in the little booth next to Caitlin and Cisco. Eddie and Iris sat across from them, his arm casually resting around her shoulder. They were chatting and laughing, but one person was missing.

"Hey, Dean, you finally made it," Sam said as he noticed his brother standing by their table.

"Yeah, where's Hayley?" He asked.

"Oh, she went to get drinks, what, like a half hour ago?" Caitlin mused with a smile over to Iris, who giggled in response. His eyes glanced over to the bar where she sat, laughing and throwing jokes around with the bartender.

"Yeah, we should probably get the drinks ourselves. Otherwise, we'll be here all night," Iris replied and shook her head.

"I don't have a problem with that," Eddie said and Iris smiled at him before she pulled him in for a kiss.

"I don't have a problem with it either," Cisco chimed in and Caitlin threw him a look, shaking her head at her friend with a snicker.

Dean sat down next to Eddie and Iris and looked over to Hayley at the bar again while the others continued with their chit-chat.

"So, did you catch this evil meta-human who terrorized Central City?" Mike asked and she giggled at his impression of a big bad meta.

"Yeah, Central City is safe again. For now, at least," she replied and furrowed her brows, playing with the whiskey glass in her hand.

"Which means you're leaving again, aren't you?" She looked up at him. She could see he wasn't happy about it, but she knew it was for the best to stay away.

"Yeah. We leave tonight," she said simply, taking another sip from her glass.

"Already? That's soon."

"Well, there's nothing left to do for me here," she said with a shrug.

"Well, that's not really true, is it?" She looked up at him surprised. Was he talking about himself? "I mean, there's always cats on trees, robberies, fires…," he dialed back as he listed every little silly thing that popped into his mind. She sighed annoyed.

"The police can do _that_. They don't need me for this," she argued. "Plus, I'm not sure how much help I would be anyways. I mean I almost died twice in the last few days, so…," she trailed off, but was interrupted by him.

"You what?! You almost died?! What the hell happened? Why did no one tell me? Why didn't _you_ tell me?" He fired question after question at her, seemingly upset over her lack of information sharing.

"Calm down, would you?" She laughed. "I'm fine. I won," she said with a smile but he still looked angrily at her. Apparently she had a way of making guys look at her that way.

"It's not fine. Next time you tell me if something like this happens. I could've helped," Mike scolded her and she frowned at him.

"And done what, huh? Serve him a drink?" She taunted him. She knew she was being hard on him, but he was just human and he already almost died on her watch a few months ago. She wouldn't let that happen ever again. She was determined to keep her friend out of this part of her life. There were already enough people involved that she had to protect now and she wouldn't add one more to the list. "Look, I'm sorry," she said as he looked at her with sad puppy dog eyes. They had been in this vicious circle many times before ever since the first day they met in college.

"Yeah, I know, I'm just human." He shrugged and smiled at her. "You probably should get back to your friends. You've been sitting here for a while. I have to check something in the, uh, storage room anyways," he said before he backed away from the bar and disappeared into the backroom before she could even say anything else.

He closed the door of the storage room, leaning against it before he let out a deep breath that he had kept in ever since she said those words to him. He could feel his hands balling into fists and before he could even think straight again, his fist hit the hard concrete wall. The thunder echoed in his ears as pieces of concrete crumbled to the floor. He looked at the wall and his fingers traced the whole he just left there. His knuckles were bleeding, but he couldn't even feel anything anymore.

No, he wasn't human. He didn't have the guts to tell her how he felt and he didn't have the guts to help her fight. He was a coward. He didn't deserve her. He deserved none of it.

She sighed deeply. She righteously felt like an ass as she grabbed the tray with drinks and finally found her way to the booth. Her lips formed into her utmost happy smile as she approached her friends, trying to forget about her fight with Mike.

They grabbed the drinks from the tray gratefully, making jokes about her being late again as she sat down on a chair at the head of the table. Dean held out his beer bottle to her with a smile and she tapped it with her own, returning his smile. Tonight they wouldn't worry – tonight they would celebrate for once.

* * *

Sam threw the rest of their stuff in the Impala before he shut the trunk, Dean already waiting for them in the driver's seat.

"I'm gonna miss you, baby girl," Joe said as he hugged both of his daughters tightly. He hated goodbyes, tears already welling up in his eyes. It was like the first time Hayley had left for college with fifteen, Iris following in her footsteps three years later. He always went through the same emotions when either of his daughters left again.

"I know. I'm gonna miss you guys, too. I'm gonna write postcards and send pictures," Hayley promised as she embraced her family one more time before she got in the backseat of the car, waving goodbye to Cisco and Caitlin.

Mike walked up behind them. He had covered his bleeding knuckles with a wash cloth, so no one would notice. He saw a small smile cross her face as she spotted him, and he waved her goodbye with a smile.

She realized that she didn't know when she would see them again. She watched their faces fade away as the Impala pulled out of its parking spot.

"Hey, Speedy." Being pulled from her thoughts, she turned her head away from the window and the painful goodbyes and looked at Dean, who grinned at her before throwing a bunch of tapes back. "Pick the music," he said, looking at her in the rearview mirror as a smile resumed to her face as she flipped through the tapes.

He sighed contently as his eyes wandered back to the road ahead.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Back from my little break with an extra long X-Over chapter. As I said before it is based on Flash 1.06 and some snippets from episodes before that. I had so much fun writing this particular chapter that I took my time with it. I love all the different characters and chemistries that are happening in this chapter. I especially like the idea of Caitlin and sam together. Can't wait to write a scene where they bond over their dead lovers. Plus, I knew Dean would fall in love with Cisco's arsenal and especially the cold gun. I might have him borrow it in a future chapter :D And hopefully our stubborn heroine finally learned a lesson or two ;)

Next I'll continue with SPN canon, episodes 20-22 before I'll start writing Hayley's finale (the boys already have theirs in 22).

As always thank you so much for reading, favoriting & following this story! :)

PS: I would love to hear some future predictions about how _you_ think the story will progress in the comments below! Also, how do you like Hayley and Dean's chemistry so far? I'm completely curious to know what you think ;)

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!


	7. Chapter 7: Dead Man's Blood (20)

Upon the shadows of the days gone by  
They seem like scenes from a different life  
We didn't notice as the days went past  
We knew it couldn't last  
But looking back I wouldn't change a thing  
The memories shared they'll always stay with me  
We never thought the good times would end

Can we go back to those days - When everything was simple then?  
And nothing could ever change

 _Yesterdays_ by **Pennywise**

* * *

 **7\. Dead Man's Blood (SPN 1.20)**

It was quiet as they sat in a diner somewhere in Nebraska. The only sounds were coming from a clock ticking on the wall and the sizzling noise of burgers on the grill in the kitchen behind the counter.

They had been on the road for three days, driving from state to state, without much to go on. Sam was on his laptop, looking for a case for them. He was close to going crazy – he finally wanted to hunt down and find whatever killed their Mom and Jess.

Dean looked up from his newspaper and glanced over to his younger sibling and their speedster friend. They both looked highly concentrated – Sam's eyes glued to his laptop and Hayley's glasses buried in a scientific journal. She had earphones in and was tapping her foot to whatever she was listening to while sipping on her coffee.

Her thoughts were interrupted when someone on her right suddenly pulled one of her earphones out. She looked around as if someone had just woken her from a dream, and instead she had found herself in a shabby diner in Nebraska while Lou Reed's _Charley's Girl_ was still playing in her left ear. Her eyes glanced confused to the culprit, who grinned at her.

"What you're reading?" He asked and she chortled. He was like a bored child sometimes.

" _Singularities and the geometry of spacetime_ ," she replied and watched him amused as his eyes narrowed.

" _Single_ -what? Who wrote that crap?"

"Stephen Hawking," she answered with a laugh and Sam joined her.

"Whatever," he barked defeated before he folded his paper and slammed it on the table. "Well guys, not a decent lead in all of Nebraska. What've you got?" Dean asked and gathered Sam's attention back.

"Well, I've been scanning Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota. Here – a woman in Iowa fell 10,000 feet from an airplane and survived," Sam said.

"Sounds more like _That's Incredible_ than, uh, _Twilight Zone_ ," Dean said.

"Or a meta-human," Hayley chimed in and grinned at him.

"Right, another thing we have to look out for now," Dean muttered under his breath before his annoyance turned into a smirk. "Hey you know we could just keep heading east. New York. Upstate. We could drop by and see Sarah again. Huh? Cool chick man, smokin'," he said with a whistle and Hayley shook her head with an amused smile. This was about the tenth time Dean had tried to convince his little brother to see Sarah again. "You two seemed pretty friendly. What do you say?" But Sam just threw him a look and Dean's eyes wandered over to Hayley. " _Or_ we could drive back to Missouri, Hayley could finally make her move on that bartender…," Dean said with a grin, earning him only a death stare from her. "What?" He asked innocently.

"Just shut up, Dean," she said before turning her attention back to her article and Sam sniggered.

"I'm just sayin', you two seemed pretty close at the bar. What's the deal anyways?" He kept asking and she sighed annoyed.

"Nothin'. We were just talking about the case," she replied frustrated. She hadn't heard from Mike since that night, which made her feel even worse and talking about him certainly didn't help.

"You talked about the case with him?" He stared at her confused, but she didn't even bother to look up.

"Yup," she replied with a single shrug.

"So...you talk about meta-human cases with some random bartender?" He lifted an eyebrow at her careless attitude.

"Pretty much," she replied in a singing voice and Dean sighed and threw Sam a frustrated look.

"Wait…does he know about you?" He raised his brows and for the first time, she looked back up at him.

"Yeah, so?" She shrugged. He frowned.

" _So_? You just don't tell random hook-ups what you do," he replied.

"You're one to talk – Sam told me you told Cassie you were a hunter," she said and he threw Sam a look, who just grinned at him somewhat apologetic.

"That's different. I was in lo-," he started to say before he grinned widely at her, realizing. "Oh...you love him, don't you?"

"No, I don't, okay? We're just friends." She got up from her chair in a hurry. "Can we just leave, please? Just pick a damn state. I'm sure there's something to hunt somewhere. I'll go sleep in the car until you two idiots are ready," she said angrily, snatched the car keys off the table and stormed out of the diner.

Dean rolled his eyes as he watched her climb angrily in the backseat before he realized Sam had been glaring at him. "What?"

"Awesome job, Dean. Now she's angry and we don't know yet how long we're gonna be in the car for with her," Sam complained. _Great_ , Dean thought – now he had two people giving him bitchface on the ride.

"Nah, she's gonna calm down," he tried to assure his little brother.

"We got a lot of work to do Dean, and you know that, so stop being a jerk," Sam retorted, earning him another eye-roll from his older brother.

"Yeah all right. What else you got?"

"A man in Colorado, local man named Daniel Elkins, was found mauled in his home," he read from a newspaper article he found online.

"Elkins? I know that name," Dean said and Sam threw him a look.

"Doesn't ring a bell," he replied.

"Elkins...Elkins...Elkins," Dean muttered before he snapped his fingers and grabbed his father's journal from the bag.

"Sounds like the police don't know what to think. At first they said it was some sort of bear attack and now, they've found some signs of robbery," Sam said, skimming through the article.

Dean flicked through John's journal before he found the page he was looking for and pointed his finger at a name his father had written down. "There, check it out." Sam leaned over the table as Dean turned the journal around for him to see. It showed a _D Elkins_ with a phone number next to it – _970-555-0158_

"You think it's the same Elkins?" Sam asked, looking up at his brother.

"It's a Colorado area code," Dean replied simply and they decided it was worth checking out.

Hayley was pleased when they came back with a possible job and even more pleased with the extra food Dean had brought back for her from the diner. It was a silent truce offer and she accepted it.

* * *

 **Manning, Colorado**

About two hours later, they had reached Colorado. Hayley appreciated the change of scenery. She had seen enough endless corn fields the last past couple of days, and the snow-covered mountains made her feel more peaceful.

Another four hours of driving and they had finally made it to Elkin's cabin somewhere in the woods of Colorado. It was colder than they were used to and Hayley had taken out her black parka for the snowy weather, while the boys still remained in their usual clothing attire. How they weren't freezing to death was beyond her.

Sam picked the lock to the seemingly abandoned cabin and Dean led the way in with a flashlight.

"Looks like the maid didn't come today," Dean said as he looked around the messy room.

"Hey, there's salt over here. Right beside the door," Sam said as he crouched down by the floor and picked some of the white granulate up with his finger.

Hayley put on her latex gloves as she skimmed the room for evidence of what might have happened to Elkins while Dean had found his journal.

"You mean protection against demon salt, or 'oops I spilled the popcorn' salt?" He asked his little brother as he flicked through the journal.

"It's clearly a ring. You think this guy Elkins was a player?" Sam asked and got up from the floor and joined the others, who were both looking curiously at the journal before them.

"Definitely," Dean stated, his eyes not leaving the pages.

"That looks a hell of a lot like Dad's," Sam said as he took a look at the little notebook.

"Yup, except this dates back to the 60s," Hayley said as Dean handed her the journal before the brothers moved into another room.

They shone their flashlights around as they stood in the doorframe. There was destruction everywhere and a big hole in the roof, where the skylight used to be.

"Whoa," Hayley exclaimed a little too excited as she pushed through the boys and wandered around the room, looking for clues. Being a CSI sometimes felt more like the first _Resident Evil_ game than anything else, _especially_ since she had entered the world of supernatural.

"Whatever attacked him, it looks like there was more than one," Sam said as he looked around the room now too. They had to tread carefully as broken glass and furniture littered the floor.

"Looks like he put up a hell of a fight too," Dean chimed in.

"Yeah, two men and a woman. Woman came through the door, the guys dropped in from the roof," Hayley said as she meticulously looked at the footprints. The good thing about the mess in Elkins' cabin was that it left her with a lot of prints too.

"Huh. Anything else?" Dean asked, looking at her.

"Yeah, there were fingerprints on that metal case on Elkins' desk. One set was clearly male, I'm guessing Elkins', and the other one looked like a woman's. So whatever killed him, also probably stole something," she replied.

"You know what we're dealing with?" Sam asked and she bit her lip.

"What?" Dean asked as he looked at her squirm.

"I'd rather not say," she said. The brothers threw her a stern look and she sighed, giving in. "Vampires?" She stammered out and she felt shivers running down her spine even when she just said the word.

"Vampires? We never fought those things before," Sam exclaimed frustrated.

"Yeah, well, you know I didn't have any luck with that either," she muttered under her breath.

"How you know it's vampires?" Dean asked.

"I read Elkins' journal earlier. The whole thing is full with it," Hayley said.

"You read his whole journal?" Dean interrupted her.

"Speed-reading Dean, catch up," she replied with a wink and he frowned at her. "Anyways, he seemed to be an expert in it. Plus, the way perps came into room, looks a hell like vampires to me."

"Perps?" Sam teased her police slang with a grin and she chuckled.

"Guys, floor," she said between laughter and shone her flashlight on a floor tile that looked oddly compared to the others. Dean bent down to get a closer look, his fingers tracing the unevenness in the wood.

"What is it?" Sam asked, looking at his brother.

"I dunno. Some scratches on the floor," Dean replied.

"Death throes maybe?" Sam mused.

"Yeah, maybe," Dean mumbled before he snapped his fingers in Hayley's direction. "Speedy, can you get me some paper and a penc-." He didn't even need to finish when she sped up next to him, handing him his requested utensils. "Wasn't in a hurry, you know," he teased her with a smile and she crinkled her nose.

He placed the piece of paper over the marks on the floor and rubbed with the pencil over it. "Or maybe it's a message," he said as he held up the paper for them to see. There were stains of blood on it and an outline of numbers and letters. "Look familiar?" He asked as he handed the paper to his little brother.

"Three letters, six digits. The location and combination of a post office box. It's a mail drop," Sam said, realizing the same thing his brother just had.

"Just the way Dad does it," Dean said his thoughts out loud and the brothers shared a long look.

* * *

They had no trouble locating the post office box. Dean entered the combination and the little metal door opened with ease. Hayley didn't really want to know what was hidden inside. Elkins' journal had been revealing enough for her and even with her level of curiosity, she had restrained from looking any more through his stuff.

Dean removed an envelope from the box and showed it to Sam with a confused look in his eyes before the three decided to head back to the Impala.

The brothers sat in the front, their eyes still not leaving the letter as Hayley patiently waited in the backseat for them to open it.

"'J.W.' You think? John Winchester?" Sam asked, looking from Dean back to Hayley.

"I don't know. Should we open it?" Dean asked, looking back at her now too.

However, before she could even answer, there was a knock on Dean's window and the three of them jumped up startled, Dean already having his fists raised into a fighting position.

John Winchester was looking at them through the window and the three exhaled relieved. He smiled at them when he realized he had scared them before he climbed into the backseat next to Hayley, who scooted over from her middle seat to sit behind Sam.

"Dad, what are you doing here? Are you all right?" Sam asked him worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I read the news about Daniel, I got here as fast as I could. I saw you three at his place," John replied.

"Why didn't you come in, Dad?" Sam asked and looked at his father softly.

"You know why. Because I had to make sure you weren't followed…by anyone or _anything_. Nice job of covering your tracks by the way," John said to them with a pleased smile.

"Yeah, well, we learned from the best," Dean replied a little proud and Hayley wasn't sure if she saw Dean's cheeks flush a little at his father's compliment. "Plus, it helps to have forensics with us." Dean gestured back to Hayley with a grin.

"Glad you convinced them, Hayley," John said with a smile before turning back to his boys. She didn't know what was scarier – John Winchester angry or John Winchester honest-to-goodness _smiling._

"Wait, you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?" Sam asked and steered them back to topic.

"Yeah. He was…he was a good man. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting," John replied.

"Well, you never mentioned him to us," Sam said a little passive-aggressively but John just brushed over it.

"We had a…we had kind of a falling out. I hadn't seen him in years," John explained a little saddened to his sons before gesturing to the envelope in Sam's hands. "I should look at that."

Sam handed the letter back to him and he started reading it. "'If you're reading this, I'm already dead' – that son of a bitch," John exclaimed as he read the rest of it silently and Hayley tried to secretly sneak a peek.

"What is it?" Dean asked his father.

"He had it the whole time," John muttered to himself.

"Dad, what?" Sam asked with a frown and John looked up at them.

"When you searched the place, did you, did you see a gun? An antique, a colt revolver, did you see it?" He asked the three of them franticly before Dean answered.

"Uh, there was, there was an old case but it was empty. Hayley thinks a woman stole whatever was in it," Dean replied.

"They have it," John said simply, realizing where the gun might be.

"You mean whatever killed Elkins?" Dean asked with a raised brow.

"We gotta pick up the trail," John answered as he hurried out of the Impala.

"Wait. You want us to come with you?" Sam asked a little surprised at his father's orders.

"If Elkins was telling the truth, we gotta find this gun," John said as he looked back at them through the window of the Impala.

"The gun – why?" Sam threw another question at John.

"Because it's important, that's why," John replied without much further ado.

"Dad, we don't even know what these things are yet," Sam said.

"Hayley thinks they're vampires," Dean added, looking concerned at his father. John let out a breath and threw Hayley a look before turning his attention back to the boys.

"Yeah. They were what Daniel Elkins killed best," John affirmed their theory.

"You never even mentioned them, Dad," Sam said.

"I thought they were extinct. I thought Elkins and others had wiped them out. I was wrong. I stumbled upon a few of them, couple months ago in Missouri," John said and looked at Hayley. "Most vampire lore is crap. A cross won't repel them, sunlight won't kill them, and neither will a stake to the heart. But the bloodlust, that part's true. They need fresh human blood to survive. They were once people, so you won't know it's a vampire until it's too late," he explained to his sons.

They had more questions, but John had made it clear to the three of them that there wasn't enough time now before he jumped back into his truck.

* * *

They had found a motel room nearby to bunker in and Hayley glanced over to the boys peacefully asleep in their beds while she listened to the police radio with John.

"Everything okay with these two?" John whispered and gestured to his sons. She turned her gaze away from them and looked at him.

"Yeah, they're doing fine," she replied with a soft smile.

"Good," he replied, returning her smile before they were interrupted by the police radio.

" _Unit 22 let me confirm. Mile marker 41, abandoned car. You need a workup?_ " They heard the dispatcher's voice.

" _Copy that. Possible 207. Better get forensics out here_ ," the police officer on scene replied and John and Hayley shared a look before he stood up and walked over to the boys' beds and slapped them awake at their feet.

"Sam, Dean, let's go," John commanded them as he grabbed his jacket.

"Mm-hmm," Dean mumbled immediately, but still half-sleep as he yawned his way awake and started rubbing his eyes.

"We picked up a police call," John told them.

"What happened?" Sam asked as he sat up in his bed.

"A couple called 911, found a body in the street. Cops got there, everyone was missing. It's the vampires," John replied.

"How do you know?" Sam questioned him, rising from his bed.

"Just follow me, okay?" John retorted annoyed before heading out the door.

Sam put on his jacket and followed his father grumpily outside and Hayley leaned against the doorframe, waiting for Dean to join them. He put on his shoes tiredly before he made it to the door.

"Huh, vampires. Get's funnier every time I hear it," he mumbled with a chuckle, shaking his head and Hayley closed the door behind them.

* * *

The sun was already rising when John had finished talking to the cops on scene before he walked back up to the trio, who had patiently waited at the Impala for him – much to Sam's and Hayley's dismay.

"I don't see why we couldn't have gone over with him," Sam sulked.

"Oh, don't tell me it's already starting," Dean sighed annoyed.

"What's starting?" Sam threw him a confused look before their father approached them.

"What have you got?" Dean asked, thankful for the distraction.

"It was them all right. Looks like they're heading west. We'll have to double back to get around that detour," John said.

"How can you be so sure?" Sam asked, furrowing his brows. Dean and Hayley looked at him frustrated. Hayley didn't always agree with John's bossy nature, but _boy_ , Sam was a lot of work sometimes. She wondered why the brothers' level of rebelliousness was scattered so unevenly amongst them.

"Sam…," Dean started but Sam immediately threw him a sharp look.

"I just wanna know we're going in the right direction," he argued defensively.

"We _are_ ," John assured his youngest son, trying hard not to grit his teeth.

"How do you know?" Sam asked and heard his two companions sighing behind him, but he ignored them.

"I found this," John said simply and handed something to Dean.

"It's a…a vampire fang," Dean stated as he looked at the little white tooth between his fingers.

"Whoa, this is _so_ cool," Hayley said in excitement as she hovered behind him to get a better look at the fang.

"Not fangs, teeth. The second set descends when they attack," John corrected him.

"Here, keep it," Dean said and put the little tooth in Hayley's hand with a smile.

"Awesome," she said with sparkly eyes as she looked at her newest souvenir.

"Any more questions?" John looked at Sam, who avoided his stare silently. "All right, let's get out of here, we're losing daylight," John ordered them before they headed back to their cars.

As John passed the Impala, he glanced back at Dean. "Hey Dean, why don't you touch up your car before you get rust? I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it." And with that, his father headed straight for his truck before driving off.

Dean looked down at his car, a mixture of sadness and annoyance playing in his face and Sam threw him a "told you so" look. Dean grimaced before the three jumped back into the Impala and followed John.

* * *

They had been on the tails of John's truck for over an hour. Sam was driving for a change and Dean read out loud for them from Elkins' journal.

"'Vampires nest in groups of eight to ten. Smaller packs are sent to hunt for food. Victims are taken to the nest where the pack keeps them alive, bleeding them for days or weeks'," he read. "I wonder if that's what happened to that 911 couple," Dean mused and looked back at Hayley. She still seemed fine, considering what they were dealing with and had listened intently to Dean's reading session.

"That's probably what Dad's thinking. 'Course it would be nice if he just told us what he thinks," Sam muttered grumpily and Dean turned to look at his brother.

"So it _is_ starting," Dean said, rolling his eyes back.

"What?" Sam asked. His brother's blind obedience sometimes still surprised him.

"Sam, we've been looking for Dad all year. Now we're not with him for more than a couple of hours and there's static already?"

"Hmph. No. Look, I'm happy he's okay, all right? And I'm happy that we're all working together again," Sam assured him.

"Well, good," Dean said and turned his eyes back at the journal in his lap. But Hayley could tell that Sam was far from finished.

"It's just the way he treats us, like we're children," he said like a reflex, unable to control himself.

"Oh God," Dean groaned, rolling his eyes back and slamming the journal shut.

"He barks orders at us, Dean. He expects us to follow 'em without question. He keeps us on some crap need-to-know deal," Sam argued frustrated.

"He does what he does for a reason," Dean said defensively of his father.

"Eh," Hayley peeped from the backseat and he threw her a look back. Was she seriously siding with Sam on this?

"What reason?" Sam asked and Dean turned his attention back to his annoying brother.

"Our job!" Dean exclaimed. "There's no time to argue, there's no margin for error, all right? That's just the way the old man runs things," Dean explained in a calmer fashion again.

"Yeah well, maybe that worked when we were kids but not anymore, all right? Not after everything you and I have been through, Dean. I mean, are you telling me you're cool with just falling into line, and letting him run the whole show?" Sam asked his brother with a challenging look.

Dean glanced at him briefly before staring stubbornly ahead at the road. "If that's what it takes," he answered weakly, trying to convince himself that this was the right thing to do.

Sam shook his head in disbelief and looked back at Hayley, who looked just as shocked and shrugged her shoulders at Sam before letting herself fall back into her seat with a deep sigh.

* * *

It was already dark outside when Dean finally got a phone call from their father.

"Yeah Dad. All right, got it," Dean said into his phone before hanging up. "Pull off at the next exit," he told Sam without saying much further.

"Why?" Sam let out angrily.

"'Cause Dad thinks we've got the vampire's trail," Dean replied without even glancing at him.

"How?" His voice was even angrier now.

"I don't know. He didn't say," Dean said and before anyone could say even more, Sam slammed his foot on the accelerator pedal, pushing it to the floor as the Impala roared forward. Dean and Hayley looked at him like he had gone mad – and he just might have. But he was angry and he needed an outlet.

He raced past his father's truck before hitting the brakes in front of him and the Impala swirled to a halt. John managed to stop his truck in time before crashing into them.

Sam and John got out of their respective cars immediately and stormed angrily at each other.

"Oh crap. Here we go," Dean mumbled as he followed Sam.

Hayley got out of the car as well. By the way Dean's voice sounded, fights like these had happened a lot more in the past. It seemed like routine to her, the way Dean tried to keep his father and brother from killing each other.

"Sam!" Dean called after him. "Sam!"

"What the hell was that?" John asked his son angrily.

"We need to talk," Sam said heatedly.

"About what?" John asked as he came face to face with him.

"About everything. Where we going, Dad? What's the big deal about this gun?" Sam asked frustrated.

"Sammy, come on, we can Q&A after we kill all the vampires," Dean jumped in.

"Your brother's right, we don't have time for this," John said infuriated, but Sam wouldn't listen.

"Last time we saw you, you said it was too dangerous for us to be together. Now out of the blue, you need our help. Now obviously something big is going down, and we wanna know what!" He yelled.

"Get back in the car," John ordered him.

"No." Sam remained stubbornly in his place and Dean grimaced.

"I said get back in the damn car," John repeated his words, inching a little closer to Sam

"Yeah. And I said no," Sam retorted and Dean looked helplessly between the two.

"Okay, you made your point tough guy," Dean tried to soothe his little brother, coming between them and putting a hand on Sam's chest. "Look we're all tired, we can talk about this later. Sammy, I mean it, come on." He grabbed Sam's arm, pushing him back towards the Impala and Hayley silently followed them. But as she glanced over to Sam, she noticed he was still staring daggers at his father.

"This is why I left in the first place," he mumbled under his breath and Hayley stopped in her tracks. This was _far_ from over.

"What'd you say?" John asked sternly.

"You heard me." Sam escaped Dean's grip, storming back to his father.

"Yeah. You left...your brother and me, we needed you. You walked away, Sam," John said and shoved Sam back.

"Sam…," Dean tried to caution his little brother. He didn't know who of the two had the worse temper, but he knew this wouldn't end well if he didn't interfere.

"You walked away!" John yelled in his son's face.

"Stop it, both of you," Dean shouted as he stepped in the middle and placed his hands on John's chest. He would be Switzerland in this – as always. Sam still kept pushing against his back and he wished one of them would just stop.

"You're the one who said don't come back, Dad. You closed that door, not me. You were just pissed off that you couldn't control me anymore!" Sam yelled back at John and Dean forced them apart for good.

"Listen, stop it, stop it. Stop it! That's enough!" Dean shouted a little breathlessly as he stood between them like a wall. Much to his dismay, they just kept glaring at each other over his head. "That means you too," he said as he looked up at his father. John gave him a surprised look, but he had enough of this.

Sam turned around and headed straight for the Impala, not saying another word. John did the same and walked back to his truck.

"Hayley, you're coming with me," he said suddenly without turning around and proceeding to get into his car. She threw Dean a puzzled look, who looked just as confused as her. She didn't want to argue with John in _this_ mood, so she just obliged and jumped into the passenger's seat of his truck before they drove off.

Dean was left standing alone in the middle of street with a pouting brother in the car and an angry father discussing who-knows-what with their speedster friend. "Terrific," he mumbled to himself before he joined Sam in the Impala and they continued to follow their father's lead.

* * *

It was silent for a while and Hayley wondered why she was even in John's truck. She tried to keep her mind off all the horror movies she had seen in the past, where a creepy guy drives a girl into the woods to kill her. She knew it wasn't the probable outcome of this trip, but the thudding silence didn't help the situation.

She cleared her throat awkwardly, more as a reflex than anything else and earned a firm glance from John.

"Anything you wanna tell me?" His expression was harsh, but eventually softened and she let out a deep breath she had been holding in.

"Nope," she lied. She was a terrible liar, but her loyalty laid more with the boys than with John. Even though, she had promised to report _everything_ to him, she had let out one thing all these months – Sam's newfound psychic abilities. She knew the boys hadn't mentioned it to him, so she wouldn't either.

"A+ parenting," she muttered instead and he glared at her.

"Okay, you've got something to say, then say it," he said annoyed and she was surprised he hadn't yelled at her already.

"Well, for starters, you could yell a little less and do a little more explaining. Especially, since they're sorta _right_ ," she said to him and she could feel him tensely grip the steering wheel a little harder.

"They're my children! I want to protect them," he said calmly.

"I _know_ and I'm telling you – _this_ is not protecting. If they don't know what they're even dealing with, then how can they ever be safe? Meg came after them and I'm pretty sure there are others out there looking for them," she said, but he didn't answer.

"Do they know?" He asked suddenly after a long pause and Hayley was surprised at his blunt question. He usually tiptoed around that subject.

She shook her head. "No, I didn't tell them. But that doesn't mean that they _shouldn't_ know. I just think you should be the one to tell them."

"No," he muttered stubbornly.

"But…," Hayley tried to argue, but it wasn't even worth the effort. John Winchester would never change his mind about this.

"I said, no!" He said forcefully before taking a deep breath. "Did something happen?" He asked and looked at her suspiciously.

"No, they're fine," she lied and neither of them said anything after that. Instead they just drove the rest of the way in silence again.

* * *

It was early in the morning when they arrived at an old barn in the middle of the woods. They had parked their cars at the side of the road before they had hiked up a small trail. The sun was already up and they watched as a few vampires left the barn and another one pulled up in an old Camaro. The four hid behind some bushes and watched as the other vampires let him into the barn.

"Son of a bitch. So they're really not afraid of the sun?" Dean asked and looked up at his father.

"Uh, direct sunlight hurts like a nasty sunburn. The only way to kill 'em is by beheading. And yeah, they sleep during the day – doesn't mean they won't wake up," John explained and Hayley swallowed hard at the whole _beheading_ part. She hadn't had the slightest idea on how to pull that off. It still turned her gut upside down.

"So, I guess walking right in's not our best option," Dean mused and his father's mouth twitched into a smile.

"Actually, that's the plan," John said with a grin.

They had walked back to their cars to get some weapons and Dean opened the truck of the Impala. Hayley watched the brothers as they strapped a whole arsenal on them, John doing the same.

Dean pulled out his machete from the trunk before his eyes glanced over to Hayley standing next to him. By now, he knew that this was her worried look – the way she was biting nervously on her lower lip, her arms crossed like she was trying to hug herself and the unnerving tapping of her foot to the melody of _Rocket Man_.

His eyes wandered over to his father and he held up a second machete for him. "Dad, I've got an extra machete if you need one."

However, John pulled out his own machete. It was massive and glistened as the sunrays hit its silver blade. He had kept it in a leather holder. "I think I'm okay, thanks," he replied with a grin.

"Wow," Dean mumbled in awe as he took a closer look at his father's weapon.

"Give the other one to Hayley," John said before turning back to his car.

Dean took the second blade and handed it to Hayley, who swallowed hard as she took it reluctantly. He knew she wasn't prepared enough to take on vampires, but he couldn't let her sit this one out either – not in front of his father.

"Just hurt 'em enough to get away. I'll take care of the rest. And stay close behind me. You got it?" He asked her almost in a whisper. He had even leaned in a little, just in case his father could still hear them. She nodded slightly, but her eyes looked thankfully at him.

"So, you boys really wanna know about this colt?" John suddenly asked as he closed the trunk of his truck and turned around to face them.

"Yes, sir," Sam replied and John nodded contemplatively at his sons.

"It's just a story, a legend really. Well, I thought it was. Never really believed it until I read Daniel's letter." He smiled and shook his head as if he were still in disbelief. "Back in 1835, when Halley's comet was overhead, the same night those men died at the Alamo. They say Samuel Colt made a gun. A special gun. He made it for a hunter, a man like us only on horseback. Story goes he made thirteen bullets, and this hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him. And somehow Daniel got his hands on it. They say…they say this gun can kill anything," John explained and looked back up at his sons.

"Kill anything like, supernatural anything?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Like the demon," Sam said and he could feel himself tense up at the thought of it.

"Yeah, the demon," John affirmed them. "Ever since I picked up its trail, I've been looking for a way to destroy that thing. Find the gun – we may have it," he said and the brothers looked more determined than ever.

* * *

The four opened one of the side windows of the barn. John jumped through it first, followed by Sam, Dean and Hayley. The hay bales dampened their jump and they quietly walked around the old barn. They had to step carefully as the ground was a mixed mess of hay and empty booze bottles. They spotted a few vampires dead asleep in hammocks, scattered all over the room.

They decided to split and John walked on over to the stalls and left the three of them to make their way through the rest of the barn. Sam walked carefully over to the left side while Dean and Hayley remained on the right as they passed through a labyrinth of hammocks.

Dean could feel Hayley's breath stop in the back of his neck every single time a vamp moved in his sleep. He didn't know if she should feel safe with him, or he with _her_. Because if anything ever happened, she would probably just zap him right out of there in a heartbeat anyways.

Lost in his thoughts, he made one wrong step and knocked over a beer bottle next to a vampire's hammock. It made a clink and Hayley stared at him in a panic and grabbed his arm. Dean's eyes were wide as well before they both turned their heads to their sides to look at the sleeping vamp, who simply just turned to the other side, snoring away. They sighed relieved.

At the back of the barn, John found a little room separated from the rest of them. A male and a female vampire were asleep on a bed, tucked inside a little niche of the barn. His eyes wandered from the vampires over to a holster beside them – with the colt inside it.

"Guys," Sam whispered and looked over to his brother and Hayley. He stood in front of a woman tied to a pole. She seemed to be unconscious and he was certain she was the woman from the 911 call. He began to untie her slowly as Dean and Hayley were on their way over to help him.

"There's more," Dean said as he turned around and saw people locked up behind a metal grid. They were unconscious as well and tied up like the woman.

As Sam was working on the ropes that bound the woman's hands together, she began to stir confused as she woke up from her deep sleep. "Hey. Hey, hey, shh, I'm here to help you," Sam whispered softly to calm her down.

But instead, she looked at him full of fear before she screamed like her lungs were on fire. Her scream sounded inhumane and Sam stumbled backwards, realizing too late that she had already turned.

"Sam!" Dean called out in distress as he looked at the moving hammocks.

Dean and Hayley were by Sam's side in a second, as they stood in the middle of a room full of awakening vampires.

* * *

John approached the two sleeping vampires slowly. The male vampire moved and he stopped for a second before the vampire rolled over to his other side. He took a few more steps closer to their bed and his hands carefully reached for the gun.

A terrifying scream echoed through the barn and John spun around to see what was going on outside as the vampires started to wake up. The man immediately threw him against the wooden wall. Luckily before the vampire could get any closer, he picked up a rock and threw it at a blackened out window, letting in enough sunlight to blind them temporarily.

As they flinched away, he ran outside, looking for his sons. "Hayley get 'em out of here!" He shouted.

Hayley grabbed them at his command, speeding them a few feet out of the barn before letting them go again. The vampires didn't try to chase them – they had been too fast and the sun was out.

They turned around, their eyes searching for a trace of John in the woods.

"Dad?" Dean called out but there wasn't a response coming. "Dad!" He shouted again, his voice more desperate than before.

"Okay, that's it. I'm going back. Gimme a second," Hayley said as she got ready to get their father back.

"No, wait," Dean said. He grabbed her arm to hold her back and she followed his gaze down the little slope they were standing on. John came jogging up the slope and the brothers sighed relieved.

"They won't follow. They'll wait till tonight. Once a vampire has your scent, it's for life," John said as he passed them on his way to his truck.

"Well, what the hell do we do now?" Dean asked and John turned around to look at them.

"You gotta find the nearest funeral home, that's what," he replied simply. Three pairs of puzzled eyes stared back at him and he smiled a little before Hayley seemed to realize it.

"Dead man's blood." She had read about it in Elkin's journal.

"What?" Dean asked, still confused and the brothers shared a look.

* * *

"Hi, I'm Dr. Allen, CSI at CCPD," Hayley said with a charming smile as she stood in front a young man in a white lab coat. He sat at a little desk at the morgue and was busy filing cases. "My supervisor called you. I'm supposed to take blood samples for a relating case in Central City."

"Uh, yes sure. Follow me." The young man got up from his chair with a smile before he noticed Dean standing behind her. "Who's he?" Hayley turned around and followed his gaze and grinned at Dean.

"Oh, that's just my lab assistant," she replied with a smile and he seemed relieved at her answer. Dean snorted behind her.

"Well, good luck with that. They sure are a lot of work," the doctor joked. "At least, mine are."

"Yeah, tell me about it. This one screws up all the time," she said with a laugh and gestured back at Dean, who rolled his eyes as he followed them into the refrigerated room, where they kept all the corpses.

He ignored the rest of their flirting and walked over to one of the bodies, lying on a cold metal table while Hayley got rid of the doctor.

"Oh, before I forget – I need 30 copies of those four cases for the station," she told him with puppy eyes.

"That's 200 pages each. It's at least gonna take me an hour," he complained.

"Ugh, I know. Bureaucracy, right?"

"Alright, fine," he caved with a smile. "And maybe we can get drinks afterwards?"

"Yeah, sure. Sounds good. Anyways, we need to get workin' here. See ya," she said hastily and closed the door on him and turned with an eye roll to Dean. She pulled latex gloves over her hands and walked over to the body where Dean was standing.

"Who did you have call here?" Dean asked her. He had wondered for a while.

"Cisco," she answered with a grin and Dean chuckled. "He sent them some fake documents about a similar case in Central City. Seemed easier than just breaking in here."

"Yeah, plus you got to meet Dr. Sexy," he grumbled and Hayley chuckled.

"Please, don't tell me you watch that show." She looked at him amused as he squirmed a little guiltily. She took a syringe out of her bag and pulled the sheet back that was covering the body and Dean hopped on the empty metal table across from her and watched her curiously.

"Hey, the female doctors are hot!" He justified his guilty pleasure. Hayley laughed and shook her head at him as she stuck the syringe into the corpse's neck and drew out the blood.

"Anyways, you should know better than that. You practically invented the 'flirting-to-get-what-you-want' scheme," she said and filled the blood from the syringe into a jar before repeating it again.

"Well, I wouldn't say _that_ ," he said but Hayley already gave him a look. "Okay, maybe. But you're different."

"If the next thing you say is 'because you're a woman', I'm going to kill you," Hayley said with a stern look, but he could tell she was still joking.

"No, I mean because of the bartender," Dean said and now he was sure she was giving him a real angry look. "Don't get upset again. You just seemed to like him and he seems to like you."

"So?"

"So, what's the problem? You guys dated before?" She sighed loudly as if she wanted to let him know exactly how uncomfortable and irritated she was with this conversation.

"We met in college and dated for a year. We broke up, I moved back to Central City, got struck by lightning and became a vigilante. End of story." By now, he was used to being shut down by her if he asked the wrong question, but that had been even fast for her standards.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there, Speedy. I feel like you're leaving something out," Dean said and she looked up at him.

"Fine. There might have been something starting up again before I was in a coma. But when I woke back up, everything had changed and I still thought it would work, but then he got hurt," she said quietly and emptied another syringe into the jar.

Dean remembered Mike telling him about the time he got attacked by another meta-human – and Hayley had saved him. "Yeah, but that wasn't your fault."

"Still. There's a reason I wear a mask – to protect the people that I love. It's bad enough Iris and Joe are involved in this. I don't need to drag more innocent people into it. I'm fast, Dean, but even I can't be at five places at once. It's just better this way," she said and he nodded. He knew that fear all too well.

"Yeah, I guess that's the smart, mature decision. If it helps, I'm proud of you," he said and she looked up at him with a smile.

"You are?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, you've come a long way, Speedy. Your fighting is getting better too," he replied with a smile. "Look, I know this life ain't easy, especially if you're used to having roots somewhere. But you're doing great."

"Thanks, Dean," she said with a genuine smile.

"So, how long is this gonna take?" He asked and gestured at the bloody jar.

"Almost done. Just wanna make sure we have enough. Plus, I wanted to give your Dad and Sam some time to talk."

"Great, so they can bite their heads off even more," Dean groaned frustrated and put his face into his hands.

"I wouldn't be so sure this time," Hayley said with a small grin as she drained the last syringe.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He looked at her puzzled. It was still killing him that he didn't know the reason why his father had insisted on riding with Hayley earlier. "What were you and my Dad talking about?"

"Oh, you would like to know, wouldn't you?" She chuckled.

"Yeah, I do," he answered with a serious face. Why did she think that was remotely funny? Were they secretly hooking up?

"Ew, no. Stop thinking _that_ ," she said as she watched his disgusted grimaces. "Just because my Dad's in prison, doesn't mean I have daddy issues, Dean." She laughed.

"Of course not. Otherwise you'd be a stripper," he replied with a grin and she giggled. "But…what were you two talking about?"

"Are you gonna tell me what you and Joe talked about?" She threw him off with that question and she knew it. He couldn't tell her. He had promised Joe. "Thought so," she said after a long silence.

He looked down defeated. There was no way she would tell him without giving away his own secret.

"Hey Dean."

He looked up at her. It wasn't like her to change her mind. "Hm?"

"Where you serious before?" Her voice was soft, almost careful when she spoke those words, but his face stared puzzled back at her. "In the car? About following orders?" She clarified.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah," he replied simply.

"Okay…," she said, biting her lip, trying to hold back words. "Why?"

"What's it with you and Sam and this rebellion crap?" He sounded angry as he sat there with crossed arms and furrowed brows.

"I'm not saying be like Sam, but…," she tried to calm him down again.

" _But_?"

"I mean you took care of Sam when he was still a baby and you two have been on the road alone for how long now? All I'm saying is, you deserve at least some say in what's going on in _your_ family," she said as he let her words sink in slowly. She packed up the jar with blood and cleaned up. "Okay, I'm done. Let's go."

She headed out the door and he jumped off the table and followed her. He wasn't sure if she wanted to leave that quickly because of their conversation or because she wanted to ditch the needy doctor.

"Hey, wait! What about your copies?" The doctor called after Hayley, but she was already out the glass front door.

"Uh, thanks. We won't be needing them after all," Dean told him with a broad grin before heading after the speedster. "Dr. douchebag," Dean muttered under his breath before he stepped out the door.

* * *

Sam impatiently paced their motel room. His father was sitting at a table and doing god-knows-what. He would ask John, but he wouldn't tell his son anyways.

"It shouldn't be taking this long. I should go help," Sam said. Hayley was a smart girl, but his brother sometimes was a bad influence on her. For all he knew, Dean could have convinced her to go drink something by now.

"They got it. Hayley's a CSI. I doubt you could help," John replied, not looking up from Elkins' journal in front of him. But Sam's pacing made it impossible to focus and he knew he needed to talk to his son. "Sammy."

"Yeah." Sam stopped the pacing and looked at his father.

"I don't think I ever told you this but…the day you were born, you know what I did?" John asked with a smile.

"No."

"I put a hundred bucks into a savings account for you. I did the same thing for your brother," John said and his eyes filled with tears at the memory. Too many years had passed since then. "It was a college fund. And every month, I'd put in another hundred dollars, until…Anyway my point is, Sam, this is never the life that I wanted for you."

"Then why'd you get so mad when I left?" Sam asked. He always had wanted his father to understand. All he ever wanted was a little piece of normalcy and freedom.

"You gotta understand something. After your mother passed, all I saw was evil, everywhere. And all I cared about was keeping you boys alive. I wanted you…prepared. _Ready_. Except somewhere along the line I, uh, I stopped being your father and I…I became your, your drill sergeant," John explained and for the first time, he had admitted to himself that he might have made mistakes along the line. Sam nodded in agreement and moved closer to his father. "So when you said that you wanted to go away to school, all I could think about, my only thought was, that you were gonna be alone. Vulnerable. Sammy, it just…it never occurred to me what you wanted. I just couldn't accept the fact that you and me – we're just different."

Sam huffed out a laugh, tears filling his eyes as well.

"What?" John looked at his youngest son inquisitively.

"We're not different. Not anymore. With what happened to Mom and Jess…Well, we probably have a lot more in common than just about anyone," Sam replied.

"I guess you're right, son," John agreed with a smile.

"Hey Dad? Whatever happened to that college fund?" Sam asked curiously.

"Spent it on ammo," John answered. They shared a look and burst out in laughter.

Dean and Hayley came into the room and interrupted their laughing.

"Whew. Man, some heavy security to protect a bunch of dead guys," Dean said with a chuckle and Hayley threw him a look.

"Get it?" John asked.

Hayley pulled out the big jar filled with blood and put it on the table in front of John. "Enough dead man's blood to poison an entire vampire army," she said with a smile.

"Good. You know what to do," John said and Hayley nodded confidently.

* * *

It was sundown and the Impala's bonnet was open. Dean had parked his baby in the middle of the road and looked at the engine while the others hid not far in the woods.

"Car trouble?" He heard a woman's voice behind him and turned around. He grinned at her. If she hadn't been dead, she would have been hot. "Let me give you a lift. I'll take you back to my place," she offered with a seductive smile before she crawled closer to him.

"Nah, I'll pass. I usually draw the line at necrophilia," he replied with a grin.

She backhanded him and he saw another vampire come up behind her as his cheek flushed red with blood. She then grabbed his face and lifted him into the air with a grin.

"I don't usually get this friendly until the second date but…," Dean joked as he grabbed on to her wrist to get a better grip. He had underestimated how strong vampires actually were.

"You know, we could have some fun. I always like to make new friends," she teased him and lowered him to her level again until they were face to face. She leaned in closer and kissed him, her nails clawing tightly into his cheeks. The vampire behind her laughed.

A red light swished behind the two vampires and the woman took a few steps back from Dean and grabbed her neck as if something had stung her there.

"Bah, sorry. I don't usually stay with a chick that long. Definitely not eternity," Dean mocked her. The big vampire behind her hit the asphalt – Hayley must have given him a bigger shot.

"Dammit," the vampire woman muttered frustrated. "What the hell was that?" She glared at Dean.

"Oh, that? See that was my friend, who just stung you with a syringe," Dean replied smugly.

"It barely even stings," she hissed.

"Give it time sweetheart," John said as he emerged from the woods, closely followed by Sam and Hayley. "That syringe was full with dead man's blood. It's like poison to you, isn't it?" John grinned at her.

The vampire looked shocked at his confession before she lost her consciousness and crumbled into Dean's arms.

"Load her up," John ordered. "I'll take care of this one," he said and walked over to the other vampire, who had gathered a little of his consciousness back and sat groggily on the ground. John raised his machete and Hayley managed to look away just in time before John cut the vamp's head off. From the sound of it, she knew it had been bloody.

* * *

It was a dark and cold night. There were barely any stars visible and the only warmth was coming from the campfire, where they had burned the vampire body earlier.

Sam had been patrolling the fire with a machete while John and Dean went to get something from the Impala. They came back, carrying a little bag.

"Toss this on the fire. Saffron, skunk's cabbage and trillium. It'll block our scent and hers, until we're ready," John explained and handed the bag to Dean.

"Stuff stinks," Dean exclaimed as he stuck his nose into the bag and sniffed at it.

"That's the idea. Dust your clothes with the ashes, and you stand a chance of not being detected," John said.

"You sure they'll come after her?" Sam asked and looked over to the vampire woman they had tied up at a nearby tree.

"Yeah. Vampires mate for life. She means more to the leader than the gun. But the blood sickness is going to wear off soon, so you don't have a lot of time," John said.

"A half hour ought to do it," Sam said confidently.

"And then I want you out of the area as fast as you can," John said and automatically looked at Hayley. It was an indirect order for her to get the boys out against their will if she had to.

"But…," Sam already started to argue but was cut off by Dean.

"Well, Dad you can't take care of them all yourself," Dean argued.

"I'll have her. And the colt," John said and gestured over to his leverage.

"But after. We're gonna meet up, right? Use the gun _together_. Right?" Sam asked his father frustrated. But John didn't answer. "You're leaving again, aren't you? You still wanna go after the demon alone. You know, I don't get you. You can't treat us like this," Sam yelled.

Hayley rolled her eyes at John in agreement with Sam. They had been getting along so well the last couple of hours, she was almost proud John had listened to her for once.

"Like what?" John asked aggravated.

"Like children," Sam replied.

"You _are_ my children. I'm trying to keep you safe," John said. Hayley coughed and he threw her a look.

"Dad, all due respect but, uh, that's a bunch of crap," Dean suddenly said and the three pair of eyes wandered over to him, a surprised look on all their faces.

"Excuse me?" John asked shocked at his oldest son's newfound attitude.

"You know what Sammy and I have been hunting. Hell, you sent us on a few hunting trips yourself. You can't be that worried about keeping us safe," Dean said with crossed arms.

 _If you only knew_ , Hayley thought.

"It's not the same thing, Dean," John argued, but he couldn't tell them more.

"Then what is it? Why do you want us out of the big fight?" Dean asked and John let out a deep breath.

"This demon? It's a bad son of a bitch. I can't make the same moves if I'm worried about keeping you alive," John said and at least, that was the truth.

"You mean you can't be as reckless," Dean corrected him. He wanted his family back and not in even more pieces than they already were. Losing one parent was bad enough, losing two would be unbearable.

"Look, I don't expect to make it out of this fight in one piece. Your mother's death…it almost killed me. I can't watch my children die too. I won't," John said and tears filled his eyes.

"What happens if you die? Dad, what happens if you die, and we could've done something about it?" Dean asked, tears brimming in his eyes as well. John didn't answer and avoided his gaze. "You know I been thinking. I…think maybe Sammy's right about this one. We should do this together," Dean said and his little brother nodded in agreement. "We're stronger as a family, Dad. We just are. You know it."

John looked at his boys and glanced back over to Hayley, who gave him an expectant look. He sighed. "We're running out of time. You do your job and you get out of the area. That's an _order_ ," John said and left for his truck.

Dean stared angrily at the ground in front of him, Sam clenching his jaw next to him.

"Screw that. We do it our way, boys. Come on," Hayley said determinedly as she spun around to the brothers. They shared a look, nodded at each other and followed her back to the Impala.

* * *

The three watched the barn and waited until the vampire leader caught scent of his mate and left. They snuck up closer unnoticed until they reached a vampire standing guard outside the big barn doors. He was drinking from a bottle when Dean crept up behind him.

"Boo," Dean said as the vamp finally turned around at the noise. Before he could make even a single move, Dean swung his machete and decapitated him, his head rolling to Hayley's feet.

"You think I could keep this?" She asked as she looked down at the head before her. Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Well, you're not storing it in my Baby that's for sure," he mumbled as he peeked inside the barn doors for more vampires.

"Your obsession with your car is weird," she countered.

"Your obsession with dead body parts is weird," he retorted before he motioned for Sam and Hayley to move in. "Come on."

They made their way to the back of the barn where the vamps had kept the prisoners. Dean walked over to the locked container full of people.

"I told you I'd come back," he said as he tried to work the hinges, but remained unsuccessful. Hayley walked to his side and started to vibrate her hand to break the joints of the metal door.

Dean pulled the door back and the people started walking out into their freedom.

* * *

John drove down the road, the vampire falling in and out of consciousness next to him on the passenger's seat. He knew it wouldn't be long now before the poison wore off. He noticed headlights shining in his rearview mirror and he was sure the vampires finally caught their scent.

The two cars came closer, almost blinding him with their bright lights and then they were gone again. He stepped on the breaks when the two cars suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the road.

The leader of the vampires and three others had positioned themselves in the middle of the road, grinning complacently and waiting for John to make a wrong move.

"Get out! Who are you?" The leader called out irritated.

"Name's Winchester," John replied with a smile when got out of his truck.

"Where are your friends?" The vamp asked as he noticed only one hunter coming out of the car.

"Cleaning out your nest," John said and watched as the leader furrowed his brows in anger.

"Where's Kate?" He hissed with a forced smile.

"Come here, sweetheart," John said as he pulled out the tied up vamp. She was still groggy and he grabbed her like body armor and held a sharp knife to her throat.

"Kate, you all right?" The male vampire asked his mate with an almost human concern.

"Dead man's blood," she replied breathlessly.

"You son of a bitch," the vampire said to John and took a few angry steps closer to him.

"I want the colt. Elkins' gun. Trade," John said and the vampire looked at him stunned.

"Is that what this is all about? I mean, you can't shoot us all right? We'll kill you," the vampire replied.

"Oh, I don't need it for you. I'm saving it for something else," John said with a small grin. "Put the colt down, or she goes first," he threatened.

"All right. Just don't hurt her," the vamp said and pulled out the colt before placing it slowly on the ground.

"Back up," John ordered him and the vamp moved back a few steps. "Further," he told him as he dragged his mate forward. He leaned down with her to pick up the colt.

"It's a nice move, you almost made it," the leader said with a grin and John looked up at him.

The vampire in his arms suddenly cut loose from her ties, swinging her arms at him, knocking him against his truck and the gun out of his hands. The leader approached him, slapping him across the face with one swift motion that threw him into the opened door of the truck.

John fell to the ground as the glass from the window shattered around him. The leader took a few more steps closer to John's body lying unconscious on the road, ready to kill him, when something stung his neck and an arrow drove threw his chest.

However, the female vampire had already been expecting her and grabbed Hayley and flung her against the hood of one of the muscle cars. Splinters of glass drove threw her before she dropped to the ground.

"Hayley!" The brothers came running out of the trees, armed with crossbows and machetes. Dean moved to Hayley's side and checked her pulse. Her eyes were closed but at least, she seemed to be breathing.

Sam lunged at the leader, but the vampire punched him before putting his arm around Sam's throat as leverage. Dean grabbed his machete and took a few steps closer.

"Don't! I'll break his neck. Put the blade down," the vampire ordered him, but Dean didn't move. The vamp tightened his hold around his brother's neck and Sam groaned, gasping for air before Dean dropped his machete.

"You people. Why can't you leave us alone. We have as much right to live as you do," the vampire said aggravated.

"I don't think so," a voice from behind said and the vamp turned to see John Winchester standing behind him, the colt raised in is hands. He pulled the trigger and the bullet hit the vampire right between the eyes.

The vamp let go of Sam as he stumbled backwards. A sigil appeared on his forehead where the bullet entered and his whole body lit up his skeleton like lightning before he dropped dead to the ground.

"Luther!" His mate cried out in pain. She lunged at John, but was stopped by the other vampires, who dragged her to their cars before racing off with screeching wheels.

* * *

Sam was holding an ice pack to Hayley's head as she regained consciousness in their motel room.

"So the colt really worked, huh?" She asked.

"Seems like it," Sam replied with a smile and Hayley returned it.

"Well, I guess that's something," she said with a groan as he moved the ice on her forehead. Her concussion wasn't more than a bad headache by now, but the cool ice felt nice on her skin.

Dean came back to their motel room, carrying a big black plastic bag. "How's the head?" He asked and looked over to Hayley and Sam on the bed.

"Better. Not my first concussion after all," she joked and the brothers sniggered. "What's in the bag?" She gestured curiously at Dean's hands holding it.

"Oh, that? It's for you," he declared and handed it to her with a grin. "You said you wanted a souvenir, so there you go."

"Really?" She said with a wide grin when she realized what was in it.

"What is it?" Sam asked curiously and leaned over to take a look at it. "Oh God!" Sam said in disgust and moved a few inches away from Hayley when she opened the bag and revealed a chopped off vampire head in it. "Why?" He looked up at his brother in confusion, but Dean just smirked satisfied.

"This is so awesome! Thank you," Hayley said over-excitedly as she bounced off the bed and jumped over to hug him. He was surprised at her sudden outburst of affection, but eventually hugged her back. "I'm gonna go store this!" She proclaimed thrilled as she hopped away from him again.

"Don't put it in my Baby!" Dean yelled after her.

"Wha-, c'mon!" She tried to argue but Dean shut her down with a sharp look. " _Fine,_ " she surrendered with an eye roll. "I'll put it in the freezer at S.T.A.R. labs. Be back in a sec," she said with a wink before she was out the door.

Dean shook his head, rolling his eyes and moved over to his bed to pack his bag when he noticed Sam had been staring at him for a while, wearing a grin on his face.

"What?!" He asked Sam finally, who just shrugged his shoulders innocently.

"Nothing," Sam replied and Dean focused on packing again. "You're adorable, you know that?" Sam mocked him further and Dean glared at him now.

"Would you shut up!" Dean yelled, but Sam just burst out laughing even more.

His laughter died down when John walked back into the room. "What's so funny?" He asked with a smile. He loved the little moments when his boys seemed happy. At least for a little while.

"Nothing," Dean replied quickly with a warning look to Sam.

"So boys," John started. "And Hayley," he said as she swished back into the room. He gave her a quick look and she glanced at him guiltily. She knew what this would be about.

"Yes sir," Sam said.

"You ignored a direct order back there," John said.

"Yes sir," Sam simply agreed.

"Yeah, but we saved your ass," Dean said and earned sideway looks from his two companions. John's eyes pierced through Dean, but he kept his posture unwaveringly. John glanced over at Hayley, who grinned widely at him and he frowned. Dean swallowed hard at their silent exchange.

"You're right," John sighed.

"I am?" Dean asked and looked baffled at his father before he turned around to Hayley, who shrugged her shoulders at him with a giggle. Something told him that his father's sudden change of heart had to do with her.

"It scares the hell out of me. You two are all I've got. But I guess we _are_ stronger as a family. So…we go after this damn thing. _Together_ ," John said and looked firmly at his sons.

"Yes sir," the boys replied in determined unison.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I'm back, yay! Sorry for not posting anything in May. I was busy with exams and didn't want to half-ass any chapters. BUT the good news is, I finished the last four chapters and will be posting them over the weekend before starting the second story of this little installment. So stay tuned and keep reading ;)

Concerning the second story, I'm a little unsure about the title yet. I'm deciding between "Bad News Travels Fast" or "Fast Lane". If you have any other cool ideas that includes a pun or mixed quotes from Flash/Supernatural let me know! (You can also DM me, whatever you're comfortable with and works for you. I'm also always open for various other discussions or comments ;) )

And lastly, thank you for reading this story so far! Hope you have a great weekend :)


	8. Chapter 8: Salvation (21)

_Hey hey, my my_  
 _Rock and roll can never die_  
 _There's more to the picture_  
 _Than meets the eye_  
 _Hey hey, my my_

 _Out of the blue_  
 _and into the black_  
 _They give you this,_  
 _but you pay for that_  
 _And once you're gone,_  
 _you can never come back_  
 _When you're out of the blue_  
 _and into the black._

 _Out Of The Blue_ by **Neil Young**

* * *

 **8\. Salvation (SPN 1.21)**

 **Manning, Colorado**

They had decided to stay in Colorado for the meantime and John had let them into his own motel room to show them his research on the demon. By the look of his motel room, he had been here for a while. Papers and books among other stuff was scattered all around the room and he had newspaper articles, photos, weather charts, written notes and a map pinned to the wall.

John sat down at the little desk in his room, where he had even more papers lying around him. He had placed the colt in front of him in clear sight. Now that he finally had it, he wouldn't give it up again.

Sam leaned against the counter, Dean pacing nervously in front of him after John had told them the whole story while Hayley curiously studied his research. John only told her about the demon, but never actually showed her anything. She admired his work – he had done a hell of a job.

"So this is it. This is everything I know. Look, our whole lives we been searching for this demon, right? Not a trace, just…nothing. Until about a year ago. For the first time, I picked up a trail," John said and looked at his sons.

"And that's when you took off," Dean realized and John nodded.

"Yeah. That's right. The demon must have come out of hiding, or hibernation," John said.

"All right, so what's this trail you found?" Dean asked and moved over to John's desk.

"It starts in Arizona, then New Jersey, California. Houses burned down to the ground. It's going after families, just like it went after us," John explained.

"Families with infants?" Sam asked. He had quietly been listening to their conversation, but that had caught his attention.

"Yeah. The night of the kid's six-month birthday," John replied.

"I was six months old that night?" Sam asked curiously. There was so much he still didn't know about that night. Until a few months ago, he hadn't even known his older brother was the one that had carried him out of their burning childhood home.

"Exactly six months," John confirmed him with a nod.

"So basically, this demon is going after these kids for some reason. The same way it came for me? So Mom's death…Jessica. It's all because of me?" Sam asked, the blood rushing out of his cheeks. He looked pale at the thought.

"We don't know that, Sam," Dean tried to calm him.

"Oh, really? 'Cause I'd say we're pretty damn sure, Dean," Sam snapped and Dean let out a frustrated groan.

"For the last time, what happened to them was not your fault," Dean said.

"Right. It's not my fault, but it's my problem," Sam shouted now.

"No, it's not your problem. It's _our_ problem!" Dean shouted back.

"Guys, stop it! That's not helping!" Hayley yelled and raced between the brothers.

"Okay. That's enough," John ordered as he stood up from his desk. The boys took a deep breath and calmed down.

"So, why's he doing it? What does he want?" Sam asked and looked at his father. Hayley stared at John and glanced at her briefly before he answered.

"Look, I wish I had more answers, I do," he replied and Hayley rolled her eyes unnoticeably with a sigh before dropping to the bed. "I've always been one step behind it. Look, I've never gotten there in time to save…," John started to say but stopped. He stared down at his feet in pain. He had never been able to save someone from the demon. Not his wife, not Jessica.

"All right. So how do we find it? Before it hits again," Dean stirred them back to topic.

"There's signs," he said and gestured to the wall with his research. "It took me a while to see the pattern, but it's there. In the days before these fires, signs crop up in an area. Cattle deaths, temperature fluctuations, electrical storms. And then I went back and checked and…"

"These things happened in Lawrence," Dean finished and John nodded.

"A week before your mother died. And in Palo Alto…before Jessica. And these signs, they're starting again," John explained.

"Where?" Sam asked quietly from the corner of the motel room.

"Salvation, Iowa," John answered and the three of them knew it was time to hit the road again.

* * *

 **Salvation, Iowa**

They took the I-80 straight through Nebraska and eleven hours later, they had reached a little town in Iowa with a promising name. But John didn't stop his truck in town, instead he drove about ten minutes outside of town before he let his truck come to a halt.

The Impala came to a stop closely behind the truck as well. John jumped out and Dean immediately followed suit and got out of his car. John seemed upset, hammering his fist against the hood of his truck.

"Goddamnit!" He cried out. His face looked pained and Sam and Hayley had gotten out of the Impala by now too and moved to Dean's side.

"What is it?" Dean asked anxiously.

"Son of a bitch," John exclaimed desperately.

"What is it!" Dean yelled a little frustrated. What happened since they left Colorado?

"I just got a call from Caleb," John said. Caleb was a fellow hunter and friend.

"Is he okay?" Dean asked worriedly.

"He's fine. Jim Murphy's dead," came the reply and Dean's eyes looked down sadly. Pastor Jim had taken care of them many times when their father was on the road and couldn't take them with him.

"Pastor Jim? How?" Sam asked shocked.

"His throat was slashed. He bled out. Caleb said they found traces of sulfur at Jim's place," John informed them.

"A demon," Dean said before he realized it. " _The_ Demon?" His eyes widened at the thought. Was that thing on their trail?

"I don't know. Could be he just got careless, he slipped up. Maybe the demon knows we're getting close," John said.

"What do we do?" Dean asked his father. He was in hunting mode. He wouldn't let emotions get in the way of his job. He wanted that demon dead.

"Now we act like every second counts. There's two hospitals and a health center in this county. We split up, cover more ground. I want records. I want a list of every infant that's going to be six months old in the next week," John said and meant it as an order.

"Dad, that could be dozens of kids. How do we know which one's the right one?" Sam asked. It could be too late until they find the next kid.

"We check 'em all, that's how. You got any better ideas?" John raised a brow at his son.

"No sir," Sam replied meekly.

"Don't worry. We find the kid in time. We got the power of super speed on our side," Hayley said with a gentle smile as she patted his arm comfortingly. Sam smiled back weakly at her and tried to be a little more hopeful, although it felt like they were jumping out of the blue and into the black.

John nodded at the three and they turned back to their respective cars. But then he stopped in his tracks and leaned against the side of his truck. He looked broken and that was a rare sight of John Winchester.

"Dad?" Dean called out a little worried as he opened the door of the Impala.

"Yeah. It's Jim. You know, I can't…," John replied and waved him off. Tears were brimming in his eyes. He was hurt, but he gathered his posture again and his face hardened to the determined warrior he always had been. "This ends, _now_. I'm ending it. I don't care what it takes," John said before he got angrily into his truck and started the engine.

His father's words worried him, but they had a job to do. He got into the Impala and slammed the door closed before following his father's truck again.

* * *

The four of them split up, arming themselves with various IDs and lies to get the information they wanted.

Dean took his time flirting with the pretty receptionist at one of the hospitals while his brother and Hayley checked the other one.

The two had just left the hospital and Hayley was speed-reading through the stacks of copied birth certificates when Sam suddenly stopped and she bumped into him.

He clutched his head in pain. Images of a dark silhouette standing in a nursery flashed in front of his eyes. He gasped for air, but the next image came just as quickly. He saw a brunette young mother standing by the window of the nursery, sounds of a nearby train roared in his ears.

Hayley raced to his side and gave him support. The visions were taking a physical toll on him and he felt dizzy. He gestured to Hayley's bag, still fighting with his headache. "Map," he was able to stammer out and Hayley quickly pulled out the map.

"What did you see?"

"The demon's next victim," he replied quietly before he pointed to a street on the map. Train tracks were running along it and he was sure he would find her there.

Hayley followed Sam, who was frantically checking the map every few seconds, until they arrived at a park. That's when he stopped again, gripping his head in pain as another vision took hold over him. When he was able to look up again, he noticed the woman from his visions walking along the sidewalk with a stroller and an umbrella in hand.

Hayley followed his gaze until her eyes found the woman as well. "You're like a police dog with these things, Sam," she said, but Sam was already eagerly running over to the young mother.

"Hi. Here, let me hold that for you. You look like you don't need that anymore," Sam offered as he approached her and helped her stow away her umbrella with a smile.

"Oh, thanks," she responded with a laugh.

"She's gorgeous. Is she yours?" Sam asked as he looked inside the stroller at the little baby.

"Yeah," the mother nodded with a smile.

"Oh wow, hi!" Sam said as he cooed over the baby, Hayley soon joining him. "Oh sorry, we're rude," Sam apologized when he realized the mother had been watching them curiously. "I'm Sam. This is my girlfriend Hayley. We just moved in up the block," Sam introduced them.

"Hi. I'm Monica. This is Rosie," Monica said with a smile.

"Rosie? Hi, Rosie," Sam greeted the baby.

"So, welcome to the neighborhood," Monica said warmly.

"Thanks. She's such a good baby!" Sam said and she looked down at her daughter with a proud smile.

"I know, I mean she…she never cries. She just stares at everybody. Sometimes she looks at you and I swear it's…it's like she's reading your mind," Monica said and Hayley and Sam shared a look.

"What about you, Monica? Have you lived here long?" Hayley asked.

"My husband and I, we bought our place just before Rosie was born," she replied and gestured at the house next to them.

"And how old is Rosie?" Sam asked her and by now, the poor mother probably felt like she was being interrogated.

"She's six months today," Monica answered chipper while the color drained from Sam's face. "She's big, right? Growing like a weed."

"Yeah. Monica…," Sam started to say but he was still distracted by the fact that soon the demon would hurt this nice family.

"Yeah?"

"Just, uh, just take care of yourself, okay?" He wanted to tell her more, but he couldn't. They needed to find another way to keep them safe.

"Yeah, you too. We'll see you around," Monica said with a smile before she joined her husband in the driveway, who had just come home from work. They seemed like the perfect, happy family.

Hayley sighed as she watched them with a little jealously and longing before her attention turned back to Sam. He was having another vision.

He could see the nursery again. Everything around him suddenly stopped – the clock, the music, the noise, as a black figure approached Rosie's bed. Monica entered the room and the demon pushed her up the ceiling. Blood started dripping from her stomach before she went up in flames.

However, this vision hadn't just physically pained him. It was a replay of a memory he already had – his mother's and Jessica's death.

* * *

"What's wrong with you?" Sam looked at Hayley, who could barely stand still once they approached their motel room. And now that they had reached the door, she looked like she would burst soon.

"Nothing," she said and sighed. She had a feeling she knew how this conversation with John would go and she had been anxious ever since. She took a deep breath before she opened the door. "Let's do this," she mumbled determinedly and Sam threw her a confused look, but followed her inside anyways.

Sam was still sitting at the table, rubbing at his temples after he told his father about the visions he had of Monica. He still had a bad headache from the last one and talking to his father didn't ease the pain necessarily. Now he knew why Hayley had been so nervous beforehand.

John and Dean sat on their respective beds and listened to Sam's story patiently while Hayley had elegantly extracted herself from that conversation and leaned in a corner of their room. Her eyes didn't leave John for a second.

"A vision," John repeated his son's words flatly.

"Yes. I saw the demon burning a woman on the ceiling," he answered slowly. The memory still pained him and a little bit of annoyance simmered through his voice.

"And you think this is going to happen to this woman you met because…?" John asked warily. The boys hadn't told their father about Sam's psychic abilities yet and Hayley hadn't mentioned them in her reports to him. She thought it was only fair, the brothers could keep their secret when their father still kept so many from them.

"Because these things happen exactly the way I see them," Sam explained and gave his father a stern look.

"It started out as nightmares. Then it started happening while he was awake," Dean said as he rose from the foot of his bed and walked over to Hayley at the counter to brew more coffee.

"Yeah. It's like the closer I get to anything to do with the demon, the stronger the visions get," Sam said and looked at his father.

"And you didn't tell me?" John's eyes shot to Hayley and Dean stopped shoving coffee into the filter and looked at Hayley next to him. He turned around to look at his father. His eyes were glaring at her and Dean didn't understand why his Dad would be this angry with her. He wouldn't blame her for racing out of the room before the wrath of John Winchester rained down on her.

"Because you didn't ask and it's not my place to tell," she replied composed. She decided she wouldn't be scared of John anymore. She had enough confidence in her friendship with the brothers that she was almost certain, they wouldn't kick her to the curb.

"Oh, not your place? That's the _only_ reason you're here! To keep an eye on them!" He yelled at her.

"They're still breathing, aren't they?!" She yelled back at John and the brothers looked at her wide-eyed. No one had ever yelled at their father, and if someone did, it usually ended with a shoot-out.

"If that's your definition, then you're doing a bang-up job, kiddo," John retorted. "I think it's best if you left."

" _Fine_ ," she hissed through gritted teeth. She was ready to leave, but Dean stopped her in her tracks by grapping her arm.

"Hey, hey, that's enough. No one's leaving!" Dean jumped between them and John looked at him surprised. "And you can't just yell at her because she didn't snitch," he added and looked at Hayley. The corners of her mouth twitched to a grateful smile.

"All right," John muttered defeated. "And when were you going to tell me about this?" His anger returned and steered towards his oldest son instead.

"We didn't know what it meant," Dean explained defensively.

"All right, something like this starts happening to your brother, you pick up the phone and you call me," John told him irritated.

Dean shook his head with an amused laugh before storming over to his father. "Call you? Are you kidding me?" Sam and Hayley looked at him shocked. Dean wasn't usually the one to lash out at his father. "Dad, I called you from Lawrence, all right? Sam called you when I was dying. I mean, getting you on the phone? I got a better chance of winning the lottery." He calmed down a little again. It felt good to finally get that off his chest.

"You're right," John sighed. "Although, I'm not too crazy about this new tone of yours." He shot another glance at Hayley, who was still glaring at him. "You're right. I'm sorry," he said and seemed sincere about his words and both Dean and Hayley relaxed a little as the tension cleared the room.

"Look guys, visions or no visions, fact is, we know the demon is coming tonight. And this family's gonna go through the same hell we went through," Sam said as the noise in the room had died down.

"No, they're not. No one is, ever again," John promised, just as Sam's cell started ringing.

"Hello?" Sam said, picking up.

" _Sam?_ " A female voice rung through the speaker.

"Who is this?" Sam asked. The voice sounded somehow familiar and he could feel his stomach tie into knots at his suspicions.

" _Think real hard it will come to you_ ," the voice said.

There was a long pause, but when Sam spoke that name, the other three heads in the room spun around and stared at him. "Meg."

"Last time I saw you, you fell out of a window," Sam said perplexed.

" _Yeah, no thanks to you. That really hurt my feelings by the way_ ," she replied with a pout.

"Just your feelings? That was a seven-story drop," Sam said.

" _Lemme speak to your Dad_ ," Meg said and Sam looked over to his father, who shook his head at him.

"My Dad? I don't know where my Dad is," Sam lied, but Meg could see right through it.

" _It's time for the grown ups to talk Sam, let me speak to him now_ ," she ordered in a rougher tone and Sam turned to his father again before he handed the phone hesitantly over to him.

"This is John," he said in a firm voice.

" _Howdy John. I'm Meg. I'm a friend of your boys. I'm also the one who watched Jim Murphy choke on his own blood…still there John-boy?_ "

John swallowed hard before he answered. "I'm here."

" _Well that was yesterday. Today I'm in Lincoln. Visiting another old friend of yours. He wants to say hi…_ ," she said with a twisted voice.

He could hear noises on the other side before a familiar voice sounded in his ears. " _John, whatever you do, don't give…_ ," he heard the man say, but the phone was being pulled away again.

"Caleb?" John's voice sounded desperate now and the three watched him worriedly.

"You listen to me. He's got nothing to do with anything. You let him go," John threatened her.

" _We know you have the colt, John_ ," Meg said and it suddenly dawned on him what she was really after.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, but knew it wouldn't help him much now anyways.

" _Oh, okay. Well, listen to this,_ " Meg said and he could hear chocking noises on the other end.

"Caleb. Caleb!" John called out, but it was too late. Meg had killed him.

" _You hear that? That's the sound of your friend dying_ ," Meg told him and he could still hear Caleb gasping in the background until it finally stopped. " _Now let's try this again. We know you have the gun John, word travels fast. So as far as we're concerned, you just declared war. And this is what war looks like. It has casualties._ "

"I'm gonna kill you, you know that?" John promised through gritted teeth.

" _Oh John please, mind your blood pressure. So this is the thing. We're going to keep doing what we're doing. And your friends, anyone who has ever helped you, gave you shelter, anyone you ever loved. They'll all die unless you give us that gun._ " He didn't answer for a while. He had to come up with a plan – fast. His boys had joined him closely by his side and tried to listen in. " _I'm waiting Johnny, better answer before the buzzer_ ," she baited him.

"Okay," he mumbled.

" _Sorry? I didn't quite get that_ ," Meg teased him further.

"I said okay, I'll bring you the colt," John repeated louder now and three pairs of eyes shot at him.

" _There's a warehouse in Lincoln, on the corner of Wabash and Lake. You're gonna meet me there_ ," Meg told him.

"It's gonna take me about a days drive to get there," John lied again.

" _Meet me there at midnight tonight_ ," she insisted.

"That's impossible. I can't get there in time and I can't just carry a gun on the plane," he argued.

" _Oh. Well, I guess your friends die, don't they. If you do decide to make it, come alone_." She emphasized the last word before she hung up again.

"God, I wish I had killed that bitch back in Chicago," Hayley finally broke the silence, even though she wasn't even known to be a killer.

"You knew she was still kickin'?" Dean asked and shot her a look.

"Yeah. She's the one that send the Daevas after you in the motel. I saw her outside," Hayley said.

"And you didn't go after her?" Dean asked a little irritated.

"Well, it was either hunting down Meg or saving you guys, so...," Hayley replied with a shrug and Dean threw his head back with a sigh.

"So you really think Meg is a demon?" Sam asked and she nodded before looking over to John.

"Either that, or she's possessed by one. It doesn't really matter," John added. He had been the one to tell Hayley in the first place that Meg might be a black-eyed bitch.

"What do we do?" Dean asked and turned to his father.

"I'm going to Lincoln," John replied determinedly.

"What?" Dean cocked his brows at his father. Had he gone insane? It was clear as day to him that they would try to kill him there.

"It doesn't look like we have a choice. If I don't go, a lot of people die, our friends die," he explained and looked pleadingly at his sons.

"Dad, the demon is coming tonight. For Monica and her family. That gun is all we got, you can't just hand it over," Sam argued. It was their only chance to stop all of this for good.

"Who said anything about handing it over? Look, besides us and a couple of vampires, no one's really seen the gun, no one knows what it looks like," John said and Hayley gave him a worried look. She had a feeling that this was just the story he would only tell his sons to keep them safe.

"So what, you're just going to pick up a ringer at a pawn shop?" Dean asked dubiously.

"Antique store," John corrected him, but it didn't really help.

"You're going to hand Meg a fake gun and hope she doesn't notice?" He asked with raised eyebrows. Even for their standards, it sounded like a stupid idea and by the look on Hayley's face, she seemed to agree.

"Look, as long as it's close, she shouldn't be able to tell the difference," he tried to convince them.

"Yeah, but for how long? What happens when she figures it out?" Dean asked and the worry returned to his face. It sounded like a suicide mission and he wouldn't stand for it.

"I just...I just need to buy a few hours, that's all," John confirmed Dean's gut feeling.

"You mean for the three of us. You want us to stay here, and kill this demon by ourselves?" Sam asked with raised brows as he spoke up for the first time in a while.

"No Sam," John replied quietly before tears came to his eyes. "I want to stop losing people we love. I want you to go to school, I want Dean to have a home. I want…I want Mary alive. It's just…I just want this to be over," John said weakly and it felt like he was saying goodbye. And his sons felt it too.

* * *

They had parked their cars at the side of the road, waiting for the red speedster to return from her mission and soon enough, they felt a breeze of air against their faces and Hayley came to a screeching halt in front of them.

"Whoops! Almost missed ya there!" She said with a grin.

"You get it?" John asked her indifferently.

"Yeah," she said and pulled out a brown paper bag and threw it at John. He caught it gracefully and revealed an antique gun, almost identical to the real colt.

"What took you so long?" Dean questioned her.

"Well, I couldn't find one in the US that came even close to the real deal. So, I met this owner of an antique store in Nova Scotia, who tells me he has a gun coming in from Colombia in two weeks. And we can't wait two weeks, right? So…," Hayley said with a wide grin.

"You got this from an antique store in freakin' Colombia?" Dean lifted an eyebrow.

"Antique store, drug cartel…doesn't really matter," she said nonchalantly. The brothers shared a look and Sam started chuckling. "But I did good, right?" She looked questioningly at John.

"Nice work," he complimented her with a smile and she beamed proudly. She had never been one to hold a grudge for too long. An ability she desperately needed when it came to working with John Winchester.

"You know this is a trap, don't you. That's why Meg wants you to come alone?" Dean asked. He was still unconvinced of his father's plan and it worried him.

"I can handle her. I got a whole arsenal loaded. Holy water, Mandaic, amulets…," John started to say confidently.

"Dad…," Dean said softly, interrupting him.

"What?" John turned to look at his son and he could see the sadness all across his face.

"Promise me something," Dean said almost hopeful his father would listen to him this time.

"What's that?" John asked with a raised brow.

"This thing goes south just…get the hell out. Don't get yourself killed, all right? You're no good to us dead," Dean said and shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't like him to utter any sort of feelings, but he felt like he needed to say it. Not just to his father, but Sam too.

"Same goes for you," John said with a nod and they stood there in silence for a while before John stirred them back to topic. "All right, listen to me. They made the bullets special for this colt. There's only four of them left. Without them, this gun is useless. You make every shot count."

"Yes sir," Sam answered confidently and Dean shot his little brother a slight glance. He looked determined – _too_ determined.

"Been waiting a long time for this fight. Now it's here I'm not gonna be in it. It's up to you three now. It's your fight, you finish this. You finish what I started. Understand?" John asked and the boys nodded.

"You sure you don't want me to come with you? I could zap you in and out of there in a few seconds," Hayley suggested, but knew John would decline her offer.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "You do what you do best – keep them breathing," he added with a wink before he handed Dean the colt.

"We'll see you soon, Dad," Sam said with an optimistic smile. This wouldn't be a goodbye forever.

"I'll see you later." John tried to return his smile, but the dejectedness of the situation was simmering through and the three of them watched him leave in his truck again with a gut-wrenching feeling brewing in their stomachs.

* * *

It was after nightfall when they were still sitting in the Impala in front of Monica's house. Hayley was stretched out in the backseat and the colt was safely stored between the boys.

The three of them watched as the family finished dinner. "Maybe we could tell 'em it was a gas leak. Might get 'em out of the house for a few hours," Sam said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, and how many times has that actually worked for us?" Dean asked and glanced at his little brother.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "We could always tell 'em the truth," he suggested and Dean raised a brow at him.

"Nah," they said together and started to laugh. In all those years, that had been the _one_ thing that surely _never_ had worked.

"I know, I know. I just…with what's coming for these folks," Sam said and watched Monica and her husband as they finished dinner.

Hayley sat up from behind and leaned in closer to them, resting her head on the boys' backrest. She had kept an eye on the family this whole time and listened quietly to the brothers' suggestions, just to make sure nothing would happen to this family. It reminded her too much of her own mother's murder, but she knew whatever she was feeling, it was only a thousandth of what the boys would be feeling.

"I could just run them out," she suggested and Dean looked at her.

"And do what? Tie them up somewhere?" He asked with a lifted brow. She tilted her head and her forehead creased as if she was seriously considering that option. He shook his head.

"No. Guys, we only got one move and you know it, all right? We gotta wait for that demon to show itself and then we get it before it gets them," Dean said and looked at them both and they nodded slightly. They knew he was right.

"Hey, Hayley?" Sam asked and looked back at her.

"Yes, Samuel," Hayley said formally and he chuckled.

"Why didn't you tell Dad about my psychic abilities?"

"Well, as I said – wasn't my place to tell. Plus, your Dad ain't the boss of me," she said with a grin.

"Yeah, I'd think he disagree with you on that one," Dean scoffed.

"Oh, I'm sure he would," she giggled.

"Well, anyways, thank you," Sam said sincerely and threw her a smile, which she returned.

She looked out of the window again and watched as the family switched off the lights in the bedroom and went to bed. She wanted to tell the boys about the real reason John had sent her to watch over them, but she couldn't. And maybe, just maybe, she never needed to when they would end this thing tonight for good.

"I wonder how Dad's doing," Sam said after a while.

"I'm sure he's fine. I always thought of your Dad as G.I. Joe. He can handle this," Hayley said reassuringly and placed her hand comfortingly on Sam's shoulder, a smile crossing his face.

"I'd feel a lot better if we were there backing him up," Dean said, staring ahead. He didn't like that his father was out there alone.

"I'd feel a lot better if he were here backing us up," Sam said with a sigh and returned his eyes to the house.

"I could go check on him," Hayley proposed and Dean even considered her offer, but Sam shook his head.

"No, Hayley. We need you here," Sam said without looking at her and she gave Dean an apologetic half-shrug before letting herself fall back into her seat.

* * *

"This is weird," Sam said a few hours later, his eyes still focused on the house.

"What?" Dean whispered and gestured back to Hayley, who was dead-asleep behind them. Sam sniggered quietly as he saw her, before his face took on more serious features again.

"After all of these years we're finally here. It doesn't seem real," Sam said, taking it all in. They were finally here – after 22 years, tonight it would all end.

"We just gotta keep our heads and do our job, like always," Dean reprimanded him calmly. He still worried about Sam. His brother's need for revenge even scared him sometimes, and reminded him too much of his father. A few years ago, he would've never thought those two would be so much alike.

"Yeah, but this isn't like always," Sam argued.

"True," Dean granted. Even he could barely separate his emotions from this case. It wasn't just another hunt. But he prayed his emotions wouldn't get the better of him.

"Dean, uh, I wanna thank you," Sam said suddenly and ripped him from his thoughts. He turned to look at him.

"For what?" He asked and his brows furrowed. He had a feeling where this was going.

"For everything. You've always had my back, you know? Even when I couldn't count on anyone, I could always count on you. And, uh, I don't know I just wanted to let you know, just in case," Sam whispered, trying not to wake Hayley.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you kidding me?" Dean asked, suddenly very loudly and Hayley rose from the backseat yawningly.

"What's going on?" She asked half-asleep and confused at the disturbance, but the brothers ignored her.

"What?" Sam asked innocently.

"Don't say 'just in case something happens to you'. I don't wanna hear that freaking speech, man," Dean said upset. "Nobody's dying tonight. Not us, not that family, nobody. Except that demon. That evil son of a bitch ain't getting any older than tonight, you understand me?" He said, giving both of them a firm look and they nodded at him.

* * *

It was long after midnight and they were still waiting for the demon to show in front of Monica's house. Dean had called his father several times over the last few hours, but he hadn't picked up once.

"Dad's not answering," he said as he put his phone down again.

"Maybe Meg was late. Maybe cell reception's bad," Sam came up with a few possibilities, but none of them sounded satisfying enough for his brother.

The music coming from the radio that had quietly played in the background, suddenly became static and Sam turned up the volume. "Guys, wait. Listen."

The wind started to pick up and the remaining lights in the house started flickering. The three turned to each other with ready faces.

"It's coming," Sam acknowledged before they jumped out of the car simultaneously and ran for the house.

They stood at the front door and Dean took out a credit card from his wallet before he slid open the lock and they entered silently. Sam and Hayley got in first and were closely followed by Dean.

Suddenly, Monica's husband stood behind him, bat in hand and ready to swing. Of course, he would think they were burglars. He swung the bat at Dean's head, who ducked gracefully and the bat smashed a lamp instead.

"Get out of my house!" The man yelled upset. Dean was quick enough to grab his bat and started grappling with him. "Get out of my house!"

"Please, please. Mr. Holden, please," Sam tried to calm him but it was barely working.

The man was still fighting his way around Dean before Dean took control with ease, swinging the poor man against the wall and pinning him against it, holding the bat across his throat.

"Be quiet and listen to me. Be quiet and listen. We are trying to help you," Dean told him sharply, the man still struggling against him.

"Charlie? Is everything okay?" The three looked up as they heard Monica's voice from upstairs.

"Monica, get the baby!" Her husband yelled.

"Don't go in the nursery!" Sam shouted at the same time.

"You stay away from her!" The man yelled as Sam ran upstairs. He struggled against Dean's grip and Dean knocked him unconscious before heaving him over his shoulder in a fireman's lift.

Hayley couldn't decide who to help first and looked questioningly at Dean. "Go with Sam. I'll be fine," he assured her and she raced upstairs before he could even finish.

She found Sam as he had just reached the nursery and came to a stop next to him at the door frame.

A dark hooded figure was standing over the baby's crib, but the demon's attention wasn't on Rosie. He had Monica pinned to the wall next to them and was sliding her up to the ceiling when he noticed the two of them, flashing his yellow eyes at them.

"Sam!" Hayley yelled at him before Sam realized he had been standing there like a statue. He looked at the colt in his hands and raised it, aiming for the demon and pulled the trigger.

The demon disappeared into smoke before the bullet could even touch it and Monica crashed to the floor again.

Hayley raced over to the little baby and took it carefully in her arms. The crib suddenly started to catch fire and she moved away quickly before she helped Monica back up again. She looked worriedly over at Sam, who had just been standing there frozen, waiting for the demon to show his face again.

"Where the hell did it go!" Sam yelled angrily into the air.

"Sam, c'mon! We have to go!" Hayley urged him.

The flames from the crib started to spread faster and it wouldn't be long before the whole house was on fire. She gripped Monica by her arm and raced her and the baby out of the house.

She let go of Monica on the front lawn where Dean still had to restrain her husband, who seemed slightly less angry when his wife and daughter came back out alive.

Hayley handed the baby back to Monica and she took her daughter back with a grateful smile.

Dean loosened his grip on her husband and he struggled free. "You get away from my family!" He told them, but Monica came between them and laid a calming hand on his arm.

"No Charlie, don't. They saved us," she said and her eyes filled with tears.

"Where's Sam?" Dean asked, looking at Hayley, his eyes showing concern.

"He's still inside looking for the demon," she replied and they looked up as the windows of the nursery burst out with flames.

She looked back at Dean and his worry had turned into straight up desperation. She knew he couldn't lose his brother like she could never lose her sister. He didn't have to say it, his pleading look was all she needed and she nodded at him before lightning disappeared into the burning house.

A few seconds later, Sam was thrown to his brother's feet in the front lawn. He was coughing as he got back up and realized what had just happened.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Sam yelled at the culprit and stormed over to Hayley, but was stopped by Dean's arm and Hayley took a few steps back.

Sam groaned frustrated and looked back up to the burning nursery with a devastated look in his brown eyes. The demon reappeared at the window, a dark silhouette standing completely still between the flames.

"It's still in there!" Sam shouted and gestured to the window before he started to head back inside.

But Hayley raced in front of him, blocking his way and he felt Dean's hand grip on his arm, grabbing him tightly and holding him back.

"Sam. Sam, no," he tried to calm his brother.

"Dean let me go, it's still in there," Sam argued as he tried to struggle free from Dean.

"No. It's burning to the ground, it's suicide," Hayley countered, trying to reason with him. She had never seen Sam like this before.

"I don't care," Sam yelled angrily. The frustration and desperation of the last few months – hell, _years_ – showing in his face.

"I do!" Dean yelled back and shoved Sam back furiously. They watched as the shadow in the window vanished again before Sam stopped struggling against his brother and accepted his defeat.

* * *

Dean paced their motel room impatiently, holding his phone frantically to his ear. He had been doing that for the last ten minutes, but all he heard was ringing and he was getting tired of it.

Sam had been sitting quietly on his bed, not exchanging so much as a word or a look with his brother or Hayley. Instead he just sat there and pouted.

"Come on Dad, answer your phone damn it," Dean said frustrated as he hung up again.

"He's not at the warehouse anymore, but he definitely was there," Hayley informed him when she raced back into the room. She had found traces of blood and it looked like a big showdown had happened, but she wouldn't mention that to them right now. They had been through enough tonight.

"Something's wrong," Dean said worriedly, looking at her before glancing over to Sam. His brother was staring at the wall, still giving him his best bitchface. "You hear me? Something's wrong," Dean repeated a little louder.

"If you two had just let me go in there, I could've ended all this," Sam reproached them.

"Sam, the only thing you would have ended was your life," Dean told him and Hayley noticed the brothers were getting tense again and she worried it'd mean another fight.

"You don't know that," he mumbled. "You know, Dad was right. If you are not willing to commit to the job, then you shouldn't have come, Hayley," Sam said and looked harshly at her.

"Whoa there, Sam. Be careful what you wish for," Hayley muttered with an eye roll and Sam shot her a confused look. "But no problem. Next time I'll leave you to die in your stupidity," she yelled back at him and Dean stepped between them.

He felt out of place being _their_ mediator for once when they usually agreed on everything. "Stop it, you two!"

He walked over to the bed and looked sharply at his little brother. "So what, you're just willing to sacrifice yourself, is that it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you're damn right I am," Sam declared, getting up from his bed. Determination all over his face. It reminded Dean of the look Sam had when he left for Stanford – it had been the same one.

"Well that's not going to happen, not as long as I'm around," Dean snapped back.

"What the hell are you talking about Dean, we've been searching for this demon our whole lives. It's the only thing we've ever cared about," Sam said confused. He didn't understand his brother's sudden change of heart. This is what they had wanted. At least he thought that's what Dean had wanted too.

"Sam, I wanna waste it. I do. Okay? But it's not worth dying over," Dean said, his voice calm before the storm. He was tired of losing everything and he was exhausted from sacrificing even more.

"What?" Sam asked shocked.

"I mean it. If hunting this demon means getting yourself killed then I hope we never find the damn thing," Dean remained unwavering.

"That thing killed Jess. That thing killed Mom," Sam said through closed teeth, clenching his fists, tears brimming in his eyes now. "I'm sure even Hayley would want revenge on the thing that killed her Mom," he said with a glance to Hayley.

She avoided his eyes and stared at the floor for a while before she answered. "No."

Sam let out a frustrated breath. "You can't tell me you wouldn't wanna kill the guy."

"No! Not if it meant I lost someone else or myself in the process!" She could feel her eyes fill with tears at the thought of it. "It's not what my Mom would've wanted for me. And I'm sure your Mom and Jessica wouldn't have wanted this for you either," she said quietly.

"You said yourself once, that no matter what we do, they're gone, and they're never coming back," Dean agreed and looked at his little brother.

Sam's fists clenched even tighter and he was biting down hard on his lip before he lunched at Dean, shoving him against the wall harshly.

"Don't you say that, not you! Not after all this don't you say that!" Sam yelled at him upset and angry. Hayley took a few precautious steps closer to the brothers and watched as Sam completely seemed to lose it.

"Sam, look," Dean said with a sigh. "The three of us…that's all we have…and it's all _I_ have. Sometimes I feel like I'm barely holding it together man...and without you or Dad…," Dean trailed off, tears starting to form in his own eyes.

Hayley carefully placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, pulling him away a little when she noticed his grip on Dean had loosened a little again. He looked at her and felt guilty for what he had said to her, before he looked back up at Dean, his brother's words finally sinking in.

"Dad," Sam realized upset, letting go of Dean completely and walking over to the other side of the room.

Dean remained in his place, taking a few deep breaths.

"He should have called by now. Try him again," Sam said worriedly and Dean nodded before he picked up the phone, holding it to his ear.

It rung a couple of times like before and he was ready to hang up again, when he suddenly heard a click on the other end. " _You boys really screwed up this time_ ," Meg's voice chirped into his ears.

"Where is he?" He growled angrily and looked up at Sam and Hayley, who had their attention turned to him now.

" _You're never going to see your father again_ ," Meg replied with smile in her voice and hung up.

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Another day, another chapter :D boy, lots of drama happening as we approach the two last final chapters. Next up is Devil's Trap and then an extra special X-Over one, or _H-Over_ as I like to call it ;) because in the last chapter, it's just going to be Hayley and a little of her world and struggles before we dive into Season 2 of Supernatural and continue with the Flash's Season 1.

Oh, and I was thinking of featuring Mxyzptlk in a chapter in Season 2. Somewhere after the first Trickster episode. I feel like they'd be friends somehow (?) I don't know, you tell me :D

Hope you enjoyed this one and continue to read, fav, follow, review it! Have an awesome day! :)

PS: The song in the beginning has also a cover version by Chromatics called "Into The Black". It was featured on _13 Reasons Why_ and I'm soooo in love with it, so check it out if you don't know it already ;)


	9. Chapter 9: Devil's Trap (22)

**9\. Devil's Trap (SPN 1.22)**

 **Salvation, Iowa**

"He should have called by now. Try him again," Sam said worriedly and Dean nodded before he picked up the phone, holding it to his ear.

It rung a couple times like before and he was ready to hang up again when he suddenly heard a click on the other end. " _You boys really screwed up this time_ ," Meg's voice chirped into his ears.

"Where is he," he growled angrily and looked up at Sam and Hayley, who had their attention turned to him now.

" _You're never going to see your father again_ ," Meg replied with smile in her voice and she hung up.

* * *

"They've got Dad," Dean announced as he hung up the phone and started pacing the room angrily.

"Meg?" Hayley asked and Dean gave her a nod.

"What'd she say?" Sam asked

"I just told you, Sammy," Dean replied upset as he walked up and down the tiny room, looking for an answer. "Okay, okay," he muttered to himself before his eyes locked on the colt. He grabbed it and tucked it in the back of his jeans before storming over to his bed.

"What are you doing, Dean?" Sam asked as Dean started to gather the rest into his things into his duffel bag.

"We gotta go," he said, bag in hand.

"Why?" Sam asked, stubborn as ever.

"Because the demon knows we're in Salvation, all right? It knows we got the colt. It's got Dad – it's probably coming for us next," Dean reasoned and put on his jacket, heading straight for the door.

"Good. We've still got three bullets left. Let it come," Sam argued and didn't even bother to pack his things.

"Listen, tough guy, we're not ready, okay? We don't know how many of them are out there. Now, we're no good to anybody dead. We're leaving… _now_!" Dean ordered him, but Sam shook his head vehemently.

"No, I'm not going anywh-," Sam tried to say before he started shaking and dropped to the floor.

Dean looked up from his unconscious brother to Hayley standing above him, taser in hand. She gave it one last jolt and shrugged approvingly.

"What the...?" Dean stammered confused.

"Don't thank me, just get him in the car and let's get the hell out of here!" She ordered him as she grabbed her bags and walked out the door. She wouldn't let them stay in this town any longer.

* * *

"You know for a person that doesn't kill, you sure know how to knock someone out," Dean said as he glanced at his dead asleep brother sprawled out in the backseat in the rearview mirror. It was a miracle he even fit in there.

"Better unconscious than dead," Hayley replied bitterly, her eyes focused on the road as she shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat. The backseat offered way more space. Space she missed dearly. Especially with all the looks Dean was giving her now.

"Yeah, I guess," he said with a chuckle and shook his head.

"What?" Hayley asked with a smile. She couldn't think of anything that would be remotely funny in this situation.

"Man, that was quite a shock you gave in." He laughed.

"Well, he's so tall, so I thought stronger was the way to go," she replied and he chuckled.

"Yeah, he's gonna hate you for that when he wakes up," Dean joked and she giggled before her eyes moved worriedly to the backseat and Sam.

"You really think he's gonna hate me for that?" He looked at her and she was clearly upset.

"No! C'mon, it's Sam. I've _punched_ him many times, believe me. It's just a taser, he'll be fine," he said with a shrug. "Plus it needed to be done."

"God…and I thought when I first met you two, _you_ would be the trouble maker," she said and he snickered. She leaned against the window thoughtfully. She had forgotten how many days had passed since she'd last been home.

"Hey Speedy." She looked up at him, being pulled away from her thoughts again. "When did you meet us? I mean when did Dad ask you to look after us?" It was a random question sure, but it made her shift uncomfortably in her seat. "Was it when I got Sam from Stanford?" He asked as he felt his curiosity creep up. He wondered why he never had asked her that question before.

"Uh, no, actually…," she started to answer, but was interrupted by Sam's groaning in the back and their attention shifted to him as he finally woke up from his deep sleep.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Dean said with a chuckle. He thought it best to approach the situation with humor and hoped for the best.

"Wha-, what the hell? Dean!" Sam huffed upset behind them as he gathered his thoughts on being knocked out.

"Okay, calm down! You weren't budging…it was really the only option," Dean argued with a grin.

"The only option, Dean? How about we could have killed the damn demon and ended this like I told you to!" Sam yelled. "I can't believe you let her do this!" He exclaimed reproachfully and glared at Hayley.

"I didn't _let_ her do anything. She did that on her own," Dean said.

"Hey!" Hayley exclaimed upset and was glaring at him now.

" _But_ …but I would've, if she hadn't," Dean finished and Hayley threw her hands in the air gratefully at his confession.

"Do you know how much that hurt?" Sam complained, looking reproachfully at Hayley.

"If you think that hurts, try getting struck by lightning," she mumbled while Dean suppressed a laugh. Sam rolled his eyes at them.

He let out a frustrated sigh and fell back into his seat. It was useless arguing with these two. He couldn't win. They just didn't see what he saw. _The end._ "I'm telling you Dean, we could have taken him," he argued.

"What we need is a plan," Dean replied frustrated, his hands clenching the steering wheel tensely. "Now, they're probably keeping Dad alive, we just gotta figure out where. They're gonna wanna trade him for the gun," Dean said and watched Sam shaking his head in the rearview mirror. "What?"

"Dean, if that were true, why didn't Meg mention a trade? Dad, he might be…," Sam started, his voice quivering at the last bit, before he fell silent. But they all knew what he was thinking.

"Don't!" Dean threw him a warning look back.

"Look, I don't want to believe it any more than you. But if he is, all the more reason to kill this damn thing. We still have the colt. We can still finish the job," Sam said adamantly.

"Screw the job, Sam!" Dean yelled all of a sudden.

"Dean, I'm just trying to do what he would want. He would want us to keep going," Sam said and Hayley threw him a shocked look at his use of the past tense.

"Quit talking about him like he's dead already," Dean yelled angrily. "Listen to me, everything stops until we get him back, you understand me? _Everything_." Dean stared back at his brother firmly, waiting for an answer.

"So how do we find him?" Sam asked calmly after pausing to think it through.

"Maybe we could go back to Lincoln. Start at the warehouse where he was taken," Dean suggested, but Hayley shook her head.

"There was no trace of your Dad. I searched the whole town, every building – he's not there, Dean," Hayley said.

"Come on, Dean, you really think these demons are going to leave a trail?" Sam asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, you're right," Dean said, giving up on his initial plan. "We need help," he said and sped up the Impala.

* * *

 **Sioux Falls, South Dakota**

Three hours later and the Impala pulled up in a junkyard. Dean parked it just outside a little rundown house. The Impala looked new compared to the other cars scattered in parts around it. The three got out and walked by a Rottweiler lying on the hood of an old tow truck.

"So, this friend...he's a hunter too?" Hayley asked as they walked up to the house.

"Bobby? Yeah," Dean said.

"So…'lay low with the super speed'?" She raised her eyebrows questioningly at them.

"Yeah, for now at least. Bobby's good guy, but I'm not even sure if he's not gonna wanna shoot me and Sam," Dean replied before he knocked on the door.

They heard a few noises coming from inside before an older man with beard and a baseball cap opened the door. His eyes widened in shock and for a second, Hayley thought he would really shoot them, but his face suddenly lit up and he smiled happily at them.

* * *

He had immediately welcomed them inside. The house was chaotic, staples of books were scattered all around among various bottles of alcohol.

Bobby picked up two round silver flasks, a cross engraved on the side of it and handed one of them to the three. "Here you go."

"What is this – holy water?" Dean asked as he observed the little flask in his hands.

"That one is," Bobby said before holding out the second flask in his hand. "This is whiskey," he replied with a smile and took a swig.

When they passed his holy water test, he handed the whiskey flask to Dean, who took a swig as well while Sam and Hayley had moved into the living room, looking around. Hayley's eyes had immediately found a big book, lying on Bobby's desk and skimmed through it. If she could use her super speed, she probably would consume all of his books in a matter of seconds.

"Bobby, thanks. Thanks for everything. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure we should come," Dean said and looked up at him.

"Nonsense. Your Daddy needs help," Bobby told him like it was nothing. But it was actually everything. Especially after what had happened the last time the brothers had seen him.

"Well, yeah, but last time we saw you, I mean, you did threaten to blast him full of buckshot. Cocked the shotgun and everything," Dean remembered vividly like it was yesterday.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? John just has that effect on people," Bobby said with a chuckle and Hayley chortled across the room, Dean throwing her look.

"Yeah, I guess he does," Dean said thoughtfully.

"None of that matters now. All that matters is that you get him back," Bobby assured him with a kind smile.

"Bobby, this book…I've never seen anything like it," Sam said, who had crouched himself over Hayley and was looking at the big book in her hands now too.

"Key of Solomon? It's the real deal, alright," Bobby said as he walked over and joined them.

"Do these protective sigils really work?" Hayley looked up at Bobby questioningly. This book had definitely peeked her curiosity.

"Hell, yeah. You get a demon in – they're trapped. Powerless. It's like a Satanic roach motel," Bobby replied and the three sniggered at the thought.

"Man, knows his stuff," Dean said with a nod as he walked over to them.

"I'll tell you something else, too. This is some serious crap you kids stepped in," Bobby said with a serious look in his eyes.

"Oh, yeah? How's that?" Sam asked.

"Normal year, I hear of, say, three demonic possessions. Maybe four, tops," Bobby said.

"And how many were this year?" Hayley asked and was already afraid of the answer.

"Well, this year I hear of 27 so far. You get what I'm saying? More and more demons are walking among us – a lot more," Bobby said and looked worriedly at them.

"Do you know why?" Sam asked and Hayley swallowed hard. She had a pretty good idea why they would be here. And if John was really dead, was she supposed to tell them now?

"No, but I know it's something big. The storm's coming, and you boys, your Daddy – you are smack in the middle of it," Bobby said and Hayley wanted to chime in. She had decided she would just tell them. They needed to know.

"Uh, guys…," she started but was abruptly interrupted by loud barking, coming from outside.

The barking was replaced with a heartbreaking wince and Bobby moved to the window to look outside for his dog. He couldn't find a trace of it, only a loose chain hanging from the hood of his truck, where his dog had been before. "Rumsfeld," Bobby mumbled to himself upset.

"Something's wrong," Bobby said as he turned back to them, but it was too late. The door kicked open and a familiar face walked into Bobby's house.

"No more crap, okay?" Meg said with a bittersweet smile.

Dean took out the little silver flask from his pockets, filled with holy water. He approached her determinedly, unscrewing the flask in his hands. But Meg backhanded him before he could throw it at her. She sent him flying through the air and he crashed into one of Bobby's bookshelves, getting buried underneath it.

Hayley's eyes flickered as her body filled with electricity again as she lunged at Meg. But the blonde knew all her tricks by now and smelt her coming from a mile away, flinging her across the room with one swift hand motion.

The demon slowly turned her attention to the last two persons left standing in the room. Sam moved in front of Bobby and held out his arm protectively in front of him as the two started backing away slowly as Meg came closer to them with a wicked smile on her face.

"I want the colt, Sam. The real colt. Right _now_ ," she said through gritted teeth as the two backed away further from her.

"We don't have it on us. We buried it," Sam muttered.

"Didn't I say 'no more crap'? I swear, after everything I heard about you Winchesters, I gotta tell you, I'm a little underwhelmed. First Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun, and then he leaves the real gun with you two chuckleheads and Speedy Gonzales over there. Lackluster, I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find you?" Meg asked arrogantly as Bobby and Sam's backs had reached a wall.

"Actually, we were counting on it," Dean said with a smirk as he suddenly appeared behind her.

Meg spun around to look at him when a bolt of lightning pushed her a few steps and Hayley suddenly stood in front of her. She took a few steps back with a wide grin and Meg tried to follow her, but was held back by an invisible barrier. Dean and Hayley looked up at the ceiling with a smug smile and Meg followed their eyes to a large protective sigil right above her head.

"Gotcha," Hayley said with a satisfied grin and the blonde glared at the four of them.

* * *

They had Meg tied to a chair, still without powers under the protective circle. The brothers had been watching her closely while Hayley and Bobby were salting the windows and doors. Or as it more seemed like – Hayley explaining to Bobby why she was so fast.

"You know, if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask," Meg teased the brothers.

"We salted the door and windows. _Actually_ , she did and I…watched," Bobby said, seemingly amazed and shocked with her abilities. He had stood there, mouth wide open as his eyes had followed a blur of red light through the room. He entered the room with a canister of salt in his hands, Hayley not far behind him with a small smile. "If there are any demons out there – they ain't getting in," Bobby assured them as he had gathered himself again.

Dean gave them a nod and got up from his seat and postured himself in front of Meg, displaying a harsh look on his face.

"Where's our father, Meg?" He asked and she giggled.

"You didn't ask very nice," she replied.

"Where's our father, bitch?" Dean asked again, his face even harsher, if that was possible.

"Geez. You kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh wait, I forgot, you don't," Meg taunted him and Dean lunged at her angrily, resting his hands on the arms of her chair.

"You think this is a frigging game? Where is he?! What did you do to him?" He yelled at her.

"He died screaming. I killed him myself," she screamed at him, her eyes locking deeply into his. His nostrils started flaring and his eyes filled with hate at her words. He slapped her across the face, still maintaining his glare. She screamed out in pain, but no one dared to step in and stop him.

"That's kind of a turn on – you hitting a girl," she returned to her taunting ways with a smile, her cheek a burning red.

"You're no girl," Dean said and he suddenly felt Hayley's hand on his arm, pushing him backwards a little. He looked behind him and saw Bobby gesturing him into the next room.

He spun around and followed the three out of earshot from Meg.

"You okay?" Sam asked his brother worriedly and Dean looked up at him.

"She's lying. He's not dead," he replied defensively, but wasn't sure if he said it just for Sam or a little for himself too.

"Dean, you got to be careful with her. Don't hurt her," Bobby said warningly.

"Why?" Dean asked with a confused look. More than anything else he wanted to see her bleed right now.

"Because she really is a girl, that's why," Bobby explained.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, now just as confused as his brother.

"She's possessed. That's a human possessed by a demon. Can't you tell?" Bobby asked and raised his brows at the three of them.

"Are you trying to tell me there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there?" Dean asked and Bobby nodded. He looked back over to Meg. It was hard to separate his hatred for the demon from the body it was in.

"That's actually good news," he said, ready to walk back in, but he was held back by Hayley.

"Wait," she told him and looked back to Bobby. "So…the demon – it doesn't heal the body it's in?"

"Not that I heard of," Bobby replied and Hayley swallowed. The brothers soon realized what she was going for and sighed.

"What?" Bobby asked as he looked at their three depressed faces.

"She fell out of a seven story window in Chicago," Dean answered.

"There's no way she could've survived that kinda jump," Hayley said.

"Which means I can go back to plan A and torture that bitch," Dean said determined, trying to walk back into the room, but was stopped by Hayley again.

"What?" He frowned.

"Actually no, you can't. Because there might be the tiniest chance that the girl in there is still conscious. So you _really_ wanna torture her?" She raised her eyebrows questioningly at him and he sighed in response.

"Fine. Back to plan B then," he said with a pretended smile.

"Which is?" Hayley asked.

* * *

Plan B was apparently an exorcism. Dean stood in front of Meg, Sam next to her, holding one of Bobby's books in his hands.

"Are you gonna read me a story?" The demon asked sweetly.

"Something like that," Dean replied coldly. "Hit it, Sam."

"Regna terrae, cantate deo, psallite domino…," Sam started reading from the book, and Hayley wished she had taken Latin back in school.

"An exorcism? Are you serious?" Meg asked angrily, looking up at Dean.

"Oh we're going for it, baby – head spinning, projectile vomiting, the whole nine yards," Dean said as he described a scene from _The Exorcist_ and Hayley wondered if the movie had depicted the real deal. She had never seen an exorcism before and didn't know what to expect. She looked up at Bobby questioningly and he just shook his head at her.

"…tribuite virtutem deo," Sam continued his reading session and Meg started to flinch in pain. He looked up at his older brother, who just glared at Meg satisfied.

"I'm going to kill you," she said as she spun her head over shoulder at Sam before she turned her gaze back to Dean. "I'm gonna rip the bones from your body," she hissed angrily.

"No, you're gonna burn in hell. Unless you tell us where our Dad is," Dean said, but all he got was a smile from her. "Well, at least you'll get a nice tan," he teased her and glanced up at Sam.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incuriso infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, onmis congregatio et secta diabolica…," Sam continued to read at Dean's demand.

Meg started to shake like there was an earthquake inside of her. She was in a lot of pain, but she refused to give up and Sam continued until she gasped in pain.

"He begged for his life with tears in his eyes. He begged to see his sons one last time. That's when I slit his throat," Meg spat at them. Dean leaned down to her, staring daggers, not hiding his hatred one bit.

"For your sake, I hope you're lying. 'Cause if it's true, I swear to God, I will march into hell myself and I will slaughter each and every one of you evil sons of bitches, so help me God!" He threatened her.

"Perditionis venenum propinare. Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae. Hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei. Contremisce et effuge. Invocato a nobis sancto et terribile nomine. Quem inferi tremunt…," Sam read and wind started blowing through the room, flickering pages of opened books, as Meg seemed to be in pain again, now breathing heavily.

"Where is he?" Dean asked.

"You just won't take 'dead' for an answer, will you?" She countered.

"Where is he?!" He asked again, his voice getting harsher each time.

"Dead!" Meg screamed at him.

"No, he's not! He's not dead! He can't be!" He yelled at her angrily and Sam stopped reading to look at his brother. He looked upset and ready to explode any second now. "What are you looking at? Keep reading," Dean snapped at him and he cleared his throat a little as he returned to the pages in front of him. He knew better than to argue with his older brother now.

"Ab insidis diaboli, libera nos, domine. Ut ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias, libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos. Ut inimicos sanctae ecclesiae humiliare digneris, to rogamus audi."

"He will be!" Meg shouted as the chair began moving around inside the circle.

"Wait! What?!" Dean asked and Sam stopped reading again.

"He's not dead. But he will be after what we do to him," Meg finally budged.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Dean asked. He knew better than to trust a demon bitch.

"You don't," she replied and he sighed.

"Sam!" He yelled, ordering his brother to continue.

"A building! Okay? A building in Jefferson City," Meg cried out in a panic before Sam turned back to the book.

"Missouri? Where, where? An address!" Dean demanded.

"I don't know," she said.

"And the demon – the one we're looking for, where is it?" Sam chimed in.

"I don't know! I swear! That's everything. That's all I know," she replied weakly.

"Finish it," Dean ordered Sam, looking at her harshly.

"What? I told you the truth!" Meg argued upset.

"I don't care," Dean replied simply.

"You son of a bitch, you promised," she said

"I lied!" Dean yelled at her. "Sam?" But his little brother didn't respond. He looked back up at Sam. "Sam! Read," Dean instructed him, but Sam didn't comply and Dean walked up behind him.

"Maybe we can still use her. Find out where the demon is," Sam suggested quietly.

"She doesn't know," Dean argued. He wanted to finish her.

"She lied," Sam countered and Hayley walked up to them, curious at their discussion.

"Sam, there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there. We've gotta help her," she chimed in and Dean nodded.

"You're gonna kill her," Bobby threw in as he joined them.

"What?" Dean asked.

"You said she fell from a building. That girl's body is broken. The only thing keeping her alive is that demon inside. You exorcise it – that girl is going to die," Bobby reminded him.

"Well, we can't leave her like that!" Hayley argued. If she were ever possessed, she would at least want to die in peace.

"Listen to me, all of you…we are not gonna leave her like that," Dean agreed and Hayley let out a relieved breath. She had honestly doubted he'd agree after what she had witnessed only a few minutes before – the fury, the angst and the darkness almost consuming him.

"She is a human being," Bobby said softly.

"Yeah and she deserves to die in peace – not controlled by something evil," Hayley said gently. It was an awful situation, there was no way around it. If anyone could find another solution, it was her – and she had found none. But getting that demon out of that girl's body seemed to be the most humane thing to do.

"We're gonna put her out of her misery," Dean said resolute. "Sam, finish it."

Sam looked between the two parties, deciding who was more right, if there even was such a thing in this situation. He looked at Hayley, who always seemed to be the most righteous one of them all. No one seemed to care as much about strangers than she did and she gave him a determined nod that told him she was sure about this.

"Finish it," Dean repeated impatiently.

Sam took in a deep breath before he continued the exorcism. "Dominicos sanctae ecclesiae, terogamus audi nos, terribilis deus do sanctuario suo deus israhel. Ipse tribuite virtutem et fortitudinem plebi suae, benedictus deus, gloria patri."

Meg threw her head back and screamed dreadfully each time another word left Sam's lips until one last loud scream released a black smoke that spread out inside the protective circle and disappeared.

Her body sank forward, blood started dripping from her mouth. Hayley raced to her side and checked her pulse.

"Call 911, she's still alive," she said as she turned back to the brothers and started to untie the girl.

"Get some water and blankets," Dean told Sam and Bobby and they rushed off to do their tasks.

Dean moved over to Meg and carefully lifted her off the chair and placed her on the floor, Hayley holding the girl's head in place.

"Can't you just run her to the next hospital?" Dean asked as he knelt down to the girl's side. She looked broken and groaned in pain.

"Moving her at super speed wouldn't be the best idea," Hayley said as she carefully tested Meg's bones with her fingers. She wasn't by any way a doctor, but even she could tell every bone was shattered.

"Thank you," Meg whispered and flinched in pain.

"It's okay. Take it easy," Hayley said softly.

"A year," the girl suddenly said, her voice still coarse from the screams.

"What?" Dean asked

"It's been a year," Meg repeated with all the strength she had left. Sam joined them with a nod, informing them the paramedics were on their way. They didn't have a lot of time left. "I've been awake for some of it. I couldn't move my own body. The things I did – it's a nightmare," the girl continued, shuddering at the memories.

"Was it telling us the truth about our Dad?" Dean asked eagerly.

"Dean." Hayley threw him a scolding look.

"We need to know," he said pleadingly and she nodded slightly.

"Yes. But it wants…you to know…that…they want you to come for him," Meg forced out of her mouth, gaping for air in between.

"If Dad's still alive, none of that matters," Dean mumbled and Hayley looked at him concerned. She didn't want to knock him out too.

Bobby came back from the kitchen, a glass of water in one hand and carrying a rolled up blanket under his arm. He handed Dean the water and covered the girl up with the blanket while Hayley held up her head, Dean leading the glass of water slowly to her mouth.

"Where is the demon we're looking for?" Sam asked and Hayley frowned. Her definition of peace had looked entirely different in her head.

"Not there. Other ones. Awful ones," Meg replied.

"Where are they keeping our Dad?" Dean asked.

"By the river. Sunrise," she said slowly, closing her eyes at the last word, letting out one last breath.

"'Sunrise' – what does that mean?" Dean asked, but there wasn't an answer coming anymore. "What does that mean?"

"Dean, let her go now," Hayley said, placing a hand on his shoulder and he nodded before he got back up, leaving the girl behind.

* * *

"You better hurry up and beat it. Before the paramedics get here," Bobby said as they had gathered in the foyer to say goodbye.

"Well, speed shouldn't be a problem," Hayley said with a wink and Bobby chuckled. "I'll go pack the car," she announced and hopped towards the door.

"What you're putting in my car now?" Dean asked with a frown.

"Oh, Bobby gave me all this cool stuff. I've lots of great ideas. Just chill," Hayley said with a shrug.

"Don't tell me to… _chill_. Hayley! Hayley!" He called after her but she had disappeared out the door. Bobby sniggered next to him.

"I like her. She's got spunk. God knows you and your brother need that," Bobby said with a laugh and Dean threw him a look. "Whose is she anyways? Yours or Sam's?" Bobby asked and Dean's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What? No one's!" Dean replied maybe a little too strongly.

"Idjits," Bobby said, shaking his head. "Well, you better hurry up, boy. Girl like that is probably gone just as fast," Bobby said fatherly and Dean laughed uncomfortably, hoping Sam or literally anyone else would enter the room soon. Another demon would sure come in handy right now.

"Uh, what are you gonna tell the paramedics?" He tried to change the subjects.

"You think you guys invented lying to the cops?" Bobby asked with a smirk. "I'll figure something out," he said and shrugged. Sam joined them and Bobby handed him the Key of Solomon book. "Here take this. You might need it."

"Thanks," Sam said with a grateful smile.

"Thanks…for everything," Dean said and meant it. "Be careful, alright?"

"You just go find your Dad. And when you do, you bring him around, would you? I won't even try to shoot him this time," Bobby said with a wink and the brothers smiled before they joined Hayley in the Impala.

* * *

 **Jefferson City, Missouri**

It almost felt like home when they reached the border of Missouri. It even smelt like home, but still she was miles away from it.

They had parked the Impala at the side of an abandoned road, next to a set of train tracks. Hayley was holding the Key of Solomon up for Sam to see, as he drew symbols on the trunk with a white marker while Dean was gathering a duffel bag with weapons. He hadn't said a lot on the drive and it started to worry his companions.

"You've been quiet," Sam stated as he watched his brother resolutely fill the bag with all sorts of weapons.

"Just getting ready," Dean replied, not looking at them, focusing on his task.

"He's gonna be fine, Dean," Sam assured him, but he didn't respond. And by the silence coming from Hayley, he knew even she was doubting it.

"Dude, what are you drawing on my car!" Dean said, a frown forming on his face as he looked up and noticed what the two of them were even doing there.

"It's called a Devil's trap. Demons can't get through it or inside it," Hayley said, glasses bouncing on her nose, her eyes focused on Sam's hands drawing the symbols correctly.

"So?" Dean asked, raising one eyebrow.

"It basically turns the trunk into a lockbox," Sam replied as he moved to the other side of the trunk to draw another one.

"So?" Dean asked with a sigh. The geek squad was at work and there was nothing he could do about it.

"So, we have a place to hide the colt while we go get Dad," Sam said.

"What are you talking about? We're bringing the colt with us," Dean said angrily.

"We can't, Dean. We've only got three bullets left. We can't just use them on any demon, we've gotta use them on _the_ demon," Sam reasoned with him.

"No, we have to save Dad, Sam, okay? We're gonna need all the help we can get," Dean argued.

"Dean, you know how pissed Dad would be if we used all the bullets? Dean, he wouldn't want us to bring the gun," Sam said and Hayley looked between the two. John probably _wouldn't_ want them to bring the gun, so she knew they definitely _should_ bring it along.

"I don't care, Sam. I don't care what Dad wants, okay? And since when do you care what Dad wants?" Dean asked and Sam looked shocked at his brother's confession.

"We want to kill this demon. You used to want that, too. Hell, I mean, you're the one who came and got me at school!" Sam yelled and Dean scoffed.

"Guys," Hayley tried to swoop in, but there was no way she could stop it now.

"You're the one who dragged me back into this, Dean. I'm just trying to finish it!" Sam shouted over her head.

"Well, you and Dad are a lot more alike than I thought, you know that?" He said and his voice became calmer again. "You both can't wait to sacrifice yourself for this thing. But you know what? I'm gonna be the one to bury you. You're selfish, you know that? You don't care about anything but revenge." Sam shook his head, disagreeing.

"That's not true, Dean," Sam said, earning him another scoff from Dean. "I want Dad back," he emphasized. "But they are expecting us to bring this gun. They get the gun, they will kill us all. That colt is our only leverage and you know it, Dean. We can _not_ bring that gun. We can't," Sam finished and stared at him expectantly.

"Fine," Dean muttered.

"I'm serious, Dean," Sam said.

"I said fine, Sam!" Dean snapped back irritated. He took the colt out of the pocket of his leather jacket, holding it up for Sam to see before he threw it in the trunk stone-faced. Sam watched him closely before getting into the passenger's seat.

Hayley threw Dean a look and he approached her, gripping her wrist as he passed her closely on his way to his side of the car. "You know what you need to do?" He asked her, his look stern and his grip tightening around her wrist.

"Yeah," she replied with a determined nod and he let go of her again, moving past her.

He didn't have to say anything. She knew what he wanted her to do. If he gave her the cue, she would get that gun to him, no matter what.

* * *

The three of them hiked down the river, the only useful clue they had so far. Hayley had been running up and down the stream, trying to find their next puzzle piece – _sunrise_.

She came to an abrupt halt in front of them, forcing the brothers to stop in their tracks. "There's an apartment complex called _Sunrise_ 1.3 miles back," she informed them.

"Good enough," Dean said as he and Sam shared a look.

They hiked up the rest of the way until they reached the apartment complex Hayley had talked about. The three of them hid behind a couple of trees and watched as people walked casually in and out of the building.

"Son of a bitch. That's pretty smart. I mean, if these demons can possess people they can possess almost anybody inside," Dean said.

"Yeah, and make anybody attack us," Sam agreed.

"And so we can't kill them – a building full of human shields," Dean said as he ran out of ideas.

"They probably know exactly what we look like, too. And they could look like anybody," Sam added.

"Yeah, this sucks out loud," Dean said and let out a frustrated breath.

"Okay, focus guys…maybe we can separate the normal people from the demons somehow?" Hayley suggested.

"Tell me about it. Alright, so, how the hell are we going to do that?" Sam asked and Dean glanced at the complex for a minute.

"Pull the fire alarm, get out all the civilians," he proposed.

"Okay, but then the city responds in, what, seven minutes?" Sam asked, thinking about it.

"Seven minutes exactly," Dean replied with a nod.

"Well, that's doable," Hayley said with a grin.

* * *

Sam snuck into the apartment building. They figured Hayley would draw too much attention as the demons were probably expecting her.

He walked through the front door and looked around the foyer until he found the fire alarm on the opposite site of the hallway.

Just as he was about to pull it, he heard footsteps coming from upstairs and a man came heading down the stairs soon after. Sam pretended to walk upstairs until the man left through the front door again.

He took a deep breath before he went over to the alarm again and pulled it. He heard the alarm go off and left the building quickly again.

* * *

It didn't take long until the first fire fighters arrived in their trucks and people started to leave the building quickly.

"Hey, what's happening? Is it a fire?" Dean asked as he approached a fireman, pretending to be upset.

"We're figuring that out right now, sir. Just stay back," the fireman ordered him as he moved Dean back a little.

"Well, I've got a Yorkie upstairs and he pees when he's nervous…," Dean explained with an apologetic smile and glanced behind the fireman as lightning rushed through the fire trucks.

"Sir, you have to stay back," the fireman instructed again and Dean spun around and walked away when Hayley was done.

She met up with the brothers behind some bushes and handed them the stuff she had stolen from the Jefferson City fire department – two uniforms and various other gear, and the boys started to put it on.

"Is there a strip show involved with this later?" She said with a giggle and the brothers threw her a look. "I should have stolen that pole too," she teased them.

"Are you done?" Dean asked and raised his brows, but it was obvious he was trying to cover up a smile.

"Yeah, I'm done," she said with a grin.

"Okay. You know what to do?" Dean asked and gave her a look. She knew he wasn't referring to the plan Sam was involved in.

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "Meet you inside, boys," she said with a wink and disappeared.

"Okay, let's do this," Dean said to his little brother as they put on their helmets.

* * *

They didn't have any problems walking into the building with their full-on gear – they blended in perfectly. They were on to their third floor, checking each door with the EMF meter.

"I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up," Dean said casually.

"You never told me that," Sam said surprised.

"Guys," Hayley said quietly as she stood in front of a door, the EMF meter in her hand beeping frantically. She had checked the higher floors of the building, but of course she had been faster than them. They hadn't even noticed her there and quickly moved over to her. She swooped to the side, hiding behind the wall next to the door and Dean knocked on it.

"This is the fire department. We need you to evacuate," he said, knocking again.

They heard the door unlock and the brothers shoved it open, throwing a woman backward while a man was sitting by a table. They both got up, ready to attack but Sam and Dean doused them with holy water. They screamed as the water burnt their skin. Dean punched the man while Sam took on the woman and the brothers managed to shove them backwards into a closet. They shut the door close, the demons hammering against it furiously as they tried to get out. Hayley raced over to them to place a line of salt in front of the door before the pounding stopped and the boys let go of the door.

They removed themselves from their firemen gear as Hayley checked out the other rooms.

"Guys!" She yelled from the bedroom and the brothers ran up to her. She stood at the side of a bed, checking the pulse of a man lying inside it – their father. "He's still alive," Hayley informed them and they sighed relieved and Dean moved over to his father.

"Dad, wake up. Dad!" Dean said, trying to shake John awake. He took out a knife, wanting to cut the restraints around John's wrists. The demons had tied him to the bed and he didn't look too good.

"Wait. Wait," Sam threw in, stopping his brother.

"What?" Dean asked, looking back at Sam.

"He could be possessed for all we know," Sam said.

"What, are you nuts?" Dean asked, furrowing his brows.

"Well, he's kinda right…," Hayley said, agreeing with Sam.

"Dean, we gotta be sure," Sam said gently and Dean sighed in defeat. Sam then took out the flask with holy water again, spraying a little of it on John. It didn't seem to burn him at all and the three let out a relieved breath.

John started to moan and move, slowly opening his eyes. He saw Sam standing at the foot of the bed and threw him a confused look. "Sam? Why are you splashing water on me?"

"Dad, are you okay?" Dean asked.

"They've been drugging me. Where's the colt?" John asked, looking at Dean and he swallowed a little.

"Don't worry, Dad, it's safe," Sam assured his father and Dean started to cut him free.

"Good boys. Good boys," John mumbled with a smile.

The brothers had to carry their father as John was still too out of it to walk on his own. They had just made it out of the bedroom when the front door burst open and two demons came strolling through it.

"Go!" Hayley shouted at them and the brothers moved backwards as quickly as possible with their father on their shoulders. Hayley managed to slam the door shut and lock it before the demons could reach them when suddenly an axe burst through the wood, almost touching her nose. Her eyes widened.

Sam quickly ran a line of salt underneath her feet along the door while Dean helped John out the window and down the fire escape, Sam running after them.

"Hayley, let's go!" Sam called after her.

"Coming!" She shouted back as she slipped out the window, quickly salting the window sill behind her and joining them on the fire escape. She helped Dean get John down the escape as well while Sam ran past them, checking the street.

They had just moved John down the fire escape when Sam was suddenly jumped by another demon, throwing him to the ground and punching him.

Hayley let go of John, running over to Sam and kicking the demon in the gut. He let go of Sam, but only to throw her through the air and she landed on a nearby car, shattering the windshield before hitting the ground.

"Sam! Hayley!" Dean shouted, not knowing who to help first as he let go of his father.

He ran over to Sam, trying to get the demon off him, but the demon flung him easily across the street before he continued to punch Sam to death.

Sam was barely awake, getting weaker by each hit across his face. Breathing got harder too when he suddenly heard a gunshot and the demon above him finally let go as a light flicked inside him and lightened up his bones before he slammed to the ground. He fell off Sam and he noticed the bullet wound in the man's forehead.

He looked over to where his brother was standing, the colt raised in his hands and his look angry. Hayley was breathing heavily at the bottom of his feet and rolled over onto her back in pain.

"You okay?" He looked down at her and she nodded with a grimace.

"Yeah, I just need five," she assured him with a groan as she tried to get up and he reached her a hand, which she thankfully grabbed. He raised her to her feet, making sure she could stand on her own, before he ran over to Sam.

"Sam, come on! Come on!" He told his brother as he helped him get up, supporting him with his shoulders. Sam looked back down at the dead body to their feet and Dean followed his gaze. He had not just killed the demon, but the human it had been possessing too.

"Come on. We got to get out of here," he hurried Sam, not wanting to look at the man any longer and they quickly grabbed John before leaving this place as fast as possible.

* * *

They had driven a few hours before they stopped at a cabin, John told them about. It lay remotely in the woods on the borders to Tennessee.

The brothers had put their father into bed, giving him the rest he needed after Hayley had checked him for any injuries before she had stitched together Sam. In moments like these she wished she could share her healing powers with them, as her wounds had already completely healed by the time they had reached the cabin.

Sam was busy salting the windows and any other entries while Hayley stood outside the little cabin, checking her phone. She knew it was dangerous standing outside, but she needed the room and the fresh air to breathe. Dean joined her and poured a circle of salt around her with smirk and she giggled.

"I know. I'm sorry," she told him apologetically.

"Don't. You did pretty great today, Speedy," he said with a smile and joined her in the circle.

"Yeah?" She asked, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Yeah…I think I get it now," he said and she looked curiously up at him.

"Get what?"

"Why that lightning chose you," he said with a smile. "You're a hero," he said and stared thoughtfully into the woods.

"You okay?" She asked softly, looking up at him. He had been silently standing next to her, watching the trees sway in the wind.

"I killed someone today," he said, a quiver in his voice.

"I know," she said quietly and he looked at her. "But Sam's alive because of you," she said with a smile as she looked back inside the cabin. "Which makes you a hero too in my book."

He watched his little brother for a while before Hayley's phone started buzzing.

"Something wrong?" He asked as she held the phone up to her ear.

"Just a voicemail from Joe," she replied as she tried to listen, narrowing her eyes before she hung up. "He found a dead body. He thinks a meta is involved," she said and looked at him.

"You should go," Dean said.

"No. I can't leave you guys now! There's a bunch of demons after you, and Sam and your Dad are definitely not up for a fight right now," she argued, upset he would even ask her to stand down her guard.

"You said yourself, they just need a little rest and the drugs clear my Dad's system in a couple of hours. And we're safe here. Don't worry, okay? Central City needs the Flash more than we do right now," he said with small smile and she bit her lip, thinking about it.

"Okay," she finally agreed. "But I'll come back as soon as I'm done," she assured him and he chuckled. _Stubborn as ever_.

"Sure," he said, nodding. "Speedy…," he started as she turned to leave and she spun around again. "Be careful. They might send demons after you too."

"Yeah, you be careful too," she said with a nod and glanced back inside.

"And Hayley…kick it in the ass," he said with a grin and she giggled.

She gave him a goodbye hug before the body that had just been tightly wrapped around him like a security blanket, disappeared into thin air again.

"I'll never get used to that," he mumbled quietly, shaking his head before he rejoined Sam inside.

* * *

Dean came back into the living room after he had checked on his Dad again. He had finally woken up after a couple of hours and Dean had brought him some water.

"How is he?" His little brother asked.

"He just needed a little rest, that's all. How are you?" Dean asked and looked at Sam. His eye was still swollen and bruised and he had several cuts on his face. Hayley's stitching skills definitely needed some practice.

"I'll survive," Sam said before he looked up at Dean thoughtfully. "Hey, you don't think we were followed here, do you?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. I mean, we couldn't have found a more out-of-the-way place to hole up," Dean replied and took a look around.

"Yeah," Sam said with a nod. "Hey, uh, Dean, you, uhm…you saved my life back there," he stammered out.

"So, I guess you're glad I had Hayley bring the gun, huh?" Dean joked with a smirk.

"Man, I'm trying to thank you here," Sam sniggered.

"You're welcome," Dean replied.

"Hey, Sam?" Dean broke the silence.

"Yeah?" Sam looked back up at him.

"You know that guy I shot? There was a person in there," he said slowly and Sam nodded quietly.

"You didn't have a choice, Dean," Sam said.

"Yeah, I know, that's not what bothers me," Dean said and frowned.

"Then what does?" Sam asked curiously.

"Killing that guy, killing Meg. I didn't hesitate, I didn't even flinch. For you or Dad, the things I'm willing to do or kill, it's just, uh…it scares me sometimes," he said and his words faded into a whisper.

Sam didn't know how to respond. It was rare for him to see his strong older brother so vulnerable.

Their father suddenly joined them, slowly walking toward his boys, still a little weak from his injuries. "It shouldn't. You did good," John said, looking at Dean.

"You're not mad?" Dean asked surprised.

"For what?" John asked, a small smile crossing his face.

"Using a bullet," Dean replied as if the answer was clear as day.

"Mad? I'm proud of you. You know, Sam and I, we can get pretty obsessed. But you – you watch out for this family. You always have," his father told him.

"Thanks," Dean said, although he had a hard time believing him.

The wind outside became stronger and the lights inside the cabin started to flicker. The three of them moved over to the window.

"It found us. It's here," John said, looking out before returning his attention to his boys.

"The demon?" Sam asked and John gave him a nod.

"Sam, lines of salt in front of every window, every door," John ordered him.

"I already did it," Sam replied.

"Well, check it, okay?" John said more firmly and Sam nodded before he disappeared into the bedroom.

"Dean, you got the gun?" John asked, his eyes glancing outside the window again.

"Yeah," Dean said, watching his father.

"Give it to me," John said, holding out his hand for the colt and Dean took it out of the back of his jeans.

"Dad, Sam tried to shoot the demon in Salvation. It disappeared," Dean informed him, still holding on to the gun.

"This is me. I won't miss. Now, the gun, _hurry_ ," John ordered him, but Dean hesitated. "Son, please." His father's voice still sounding pressing and waiting for the colt. Dean backed up a few steps, griping the colt tightly. "Give me the gun. What are you doing, Dean?" John asked.

"He'd be furious," Dean said simply and took a few more steps back.

"What?" John looked at him confused. Like he had gone mad, but he knew deep down something was wrong. That this wasn't his Dad.

"That I wasted a bullet. He wouldn't be proud of me, he'd tear me a new one," Dean said, getting angrier now. He raised the gun and pointed it at his father, cocking it.

"You're not my Dad," he said determinedly and glared at the demon in front of him.

"Dean, it's me," John said, his voice calm.

"I know my Dad better than anyone. And you ain't him," Dean said, convinced whatever was in front of him, wasn't the John Winchester he knew.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" John asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. Stay back!" Dean warned him and Sam walked back into the room, his eyes widening as he saw the raised colt in Dean's hands and his chosen target.

"Dean? What the hell's going on?" Sam asked shocked.

"Your brother's lost his mind," John replied and looked at his youngest son.

"He's not Dad," Dean said simply.

"What?" Sam asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"I think he's possessed. I think he's been possessed since we rescued him," his older brother stated, getting more upset.

"Don't listen to him, Sammy," John tried to convince him, but Sam's eyes wandered back to Dean.

"Dean, how do you know?" Sam asked, looking at him.

"He's…he's different," Dean said as tears started coming to his eyes. He couldn't explain it any differently than that. His gut told him that this wasn't their Dad.

"You know, we don't have time for this. Sam, you wanna kill this demon, you've gotta trust me," John appealed to Sam.

Sam's eyes wandered back and forth between them. Who could choose between their father and their brother?

"Sam?" John's voice sounded expectantly, but Dean didn't say anything else to convince his little brother. His eyes said it all.

"No. No," Sam replied resolutely and moved to stand next to Dean, John throwing them a look.

"Fine. You're both so sure, go ahead. Kill me," John said and hung his head low, looking down at the floor, waiting for Dean to pull the trigger.

Dean stared at him. He knew it wasn't his father, but his father was still inside and if he shot the demon, he would kill his own father.

"I thought so," John said when Dean couldn't pull the trigger. He looked back up at them with a wicked smile, his eyes beaming bright yellow.

Sam lunged at him, but the demon pinned them to opposite sites of the cabin walls, Dean dropping the colt in the process. They couldn't move a muscle, being held down by some invisible force, as the demon casually paced the cabin and picked up the colt. The brothers looked at each other. There were no arms surrounding them that they could fight off. They were stuck.

"What a pain in the ass this thing's been," John said as he observed the gun in his hands.

"It's you, isn't it? We've been looking for you for a long time," Sam said, referring to the demon that had killed their mother and Jess.

"Well, you found me," the demon replied jokingly.

"But the holy water?" Sam asked.

"You think something like that works on something like me?" The demon said with a smile.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Sam struggled against the demon's powers, failing miserably.

"Oh, that'd be a neat trick. In fact, here," the demon said and put the colt on the table in front of Sam. "Make the gun float to you there, psychic boy," the demon mocked him.

Sam focused on the gun. He had done something like that before and he could do it again. He just had to concentrate hard enough. His head started to hurt, but the colt didn't move an inch.

"Well, this is fun," demonic John said with a chuckle and joined Dean by the window. "I could've killed you a hundred times today, but _this_ …this is worth the wait," he said with a content sigh. "The only thing missing really is your little girlfriend…whew she sure is something, huh boys?" He said with a low whistle and smirked at them. "But I trust my children will take care of her as well as I would've," the demon said and Dean tried to fight the forces that had him pinned to the wall, but failed just like Sam and the demon laughed amused.

"You know, your Dad – he's in here with me. Trapped inside his own meat suit. He says 'hi', by the way. He's gonna tear you apart. He's gonna taste the iron in your blood," the demon said and looked at Dean provocatively.

"Let him go, or I swear to God…," Dean threatened him.

"What? What are you and God gonna do? You see, as far as I'm concerned, this is justice," the demon said and came face to face with Dean. "You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter."

"Who, Meg?" Dean asked, raising a brow questioningly.

"The one in the alley? That was my boy. You understand," the demon said and Dean rolled his eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me," Dean muttered.

"What? You're the only one that can have a family? You destroyed my children. How would you feel if I killed your family?" Yellow Eyes asked before a wicked grin returned to his face. "Oh, that's right. I forgot. I did…still, two wrongs don't make a right."

"You son of a bitch," Dean said, glaring at the demon.

"I wanna know why. Why'd you do it?" Sam asked and the demon spun around to look at him.

"You mean why did I kill Mommy and pretty, little Jess?" The demon reminded him.

"Yeah," Sam replied stonily with a nod.

"You know, I never told you this," the demon said, turning around to Dean again. "But Sam was going to ask her to marry him. Been shopping for rings and everything." The demon paced the room between the two before he stared at Sam. "You want to know why? Because they got in the way."

"In the way of what?" Sam asked.

"My plans for you, Sammy. You…and all the children like you," the demon said, his eyes shimmering at the prospect.

"Listen, you mind just getting this over with, huh? 'Cause I really can't stand the monologuing," Dean joked with an eye roll and the demon walked over to him with a chuckle.

"Funny, but that's all part of your M.O., isn't it? Masks all that nasty pain, masks the truth," the demon said with a grin.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Dean asked. His insides felt like they were on fire, all he wanted was to rip that demon apart.

"You know, you fight and you fight for this family…but the truth is they don't need you. Not like you need them. Sam – he's clearly John's favorite. Even when they fight, it's more concern than he's ever shown you," the demon hissed at him.

"I bet you're real proud of your kids, too, huh? Oh wait, I forgot. I wasted 'em," Dean gnarled before he smiled at the demon defiantly.

John stared at him what felt like forever before he let his head sink. He raised his head again with a small smile as Dean started to cry out in pain.

"Dean! No!" Sam yelled, fighting the forces that held him down as he watched his brother's face grimace painfully.

It felt like he was getting ripped to shreds from the inside, like something was clawing his way out of his body. Blood started dripping from his chest and soon turned into a full on fountain.

"Dad! Dad, don't you let it kill me!" Dean yelled pleadingly with all the force he had left in him. He knew his father was in there somewhere. But the demon just smiled at him as his insides burst even more and he screamed out in pain.

"Dean! No!" Sam yelled panicked. He couldn't move. He couldn't help his brother. But he had to do something.

More blood came flowing out of Dean. Breathing got harder as his mouth filled with blood too.

"Dad, please," Dean mumbled, his eyes pleading before he closed them.

"Dean!" Sam cried out, still struggling with the invisible bonds that pinned him to the wall.

"Stop," John whispered and Sam felt the forces let go of him. "Stop it," John ordered a little louder through gritted teeth as he looked at his bleeding son in front of him. He had managed to overpower the demon in him, but for how long?

Sam lunged at the table, grabbing the colt and raising it at John. His father turned around, yellow eyes shimmering at him.

"You kill me, you kill Daddy," the demon mocked.

"I know," Sam said determinedly and lowered the gun a little before he pulled the trigger, shooting the demon in the leg.

His father's body slammed to the ground, and so did Dean's when the demon's powers weren't holding him anymore.

"Dean? Dean, hey? Oh God, you've lost a lot of blood," Sam said as he ran over to his brother's side. He was awake, but barely alive.

"Where's Dad?" Dean asked worriedly.

"He's right here. He's right here, Dean," Sam replied and gestured at the body on the floor behind him.

"Go check on him," he told his little brother, but Sam remained stubbornly at his side.

"Dean," Sam started to say with a concerned look in his eyes. His brother didn't look good at all.

"Go check on him," Dean repeated his command more urgently and Sam obliged, walking over to John.

"Dad? Dad?" Sam asked softly as he stood over his father's motionless body.

"Sammy!" John yelled as his eyes suddenly fluttered open, wide and upset. "It's still alive. It's inside me, I can feel it," he informed him. "You shoot me. You shoot me! You shoot me in the heart, son!" He ordered and Sam raised the colt, aiming it at his father. "Do it now!"

"Sam, don't you do it. Don't you do it." Dean's strained voice echoed through the room and Sam glanced to his brother, his eyes begging him not to do this.

"You've gotta hurry! I can't hold onto it much longer! You shoot me, son! Shoot me! Son, I'm begging you! We can end this here and now! Sammy!" His father pleaded with him, tears brimming in his eyes. The end was so close he could feel it – his sons were almost free.

"Sam, no," Dean shouted and Sam hesitated.

"You do this! Sammy! Sam…," John yelled before a black cloud left his body through his mouth and disappeared through the floor.

Dean let out a relieved breath and John's fist hammered against the floor, frustrated tears coming to his eyes and he looked up at his youngest son, his face full with anger and blame.

* * *

The three of them had jumped into the Impala as quickly as possible. John and Sam took the front with Sam driving while they had put Dean in the backseat. He was barely holding on and slipping in and out of consciousness every few minutes due to the amount of blood he had lost.

His father gasped in pain in the passenger's seat and Sam looked back at his brother in the rearview mirror, who sat there slumped in the corner of the car.

"Look, just hold on, alright. The hospital's only ten minutes away," Sam assured his father.

"I'm surprised at you, Sammy. Why didn't you kill it? I thought we saw eye-to-eye on this? Killing this demon comes first – before me, before everything," John lectured him and Sam's eyes fell back to Dean in the mirror.

"No, sir. Not before everything. Look, we've still got the colt. We still have the one bullet left. We just have to start over, alright? I mean, we already found the demon…," Sam said as a truck suddenly slammed into the passenger's side of the car.

Sam lost control and the Impala slid off the road before coming to a full stop. The driver of the eighteen wheeler was still sitting inside the cabin, his eyes turning black, and the impact of the truck had rendered the three of them unconscious, covering them in blood.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Thanks for reading! Posting my last few chapters over the weekend didn't quite work as it didn't update the story properly. But hopefully you can enjoy the penultimate chapter of this story this weekend and I'll make sure to post the last chapter next weekend. I'm so excited to post the next chapter as it's Hayley only and more of her world and struggles. So stay tuned! :)

The second story of this little installment will be posted around the end of July, so you can expect the first few chapters then ;)

Have a great weekend!


	10. Chapter 10: Trouble

_Spoke a lot of words I don't know if I spoke the truth._

 _Got so much to lose,_  
 _Got so much to prove,_  
 _God, don't let me lose my mind._

 _Trouble on my left,_  
 _Trouble on my right,_  
 _I've been facing trouble almost all my life._  
 _My sweet love, won't you pull me through?_  
 _Everywhere I look I catch a glimpse of you._  
 _I said it was love and I did it for life, did it for you_

 _Trouble_ by **Cage The Elephant**

* * *

 **10\. Trouble (X-Over 1.07)**

 **Central City, Missouri**

It only took her a couple of seconds after Joe's phone call, and Hayley had arrived at the crime scene Joe had told her about. She changed from her suit into her work attire behind a back alley before she casually walked up to Eddie and Joe, who were standing above a body – if you could still call it that.

"Hey," Hayley said as she jumped up behind the two detectives and they spun around to look at her.

"Hey, I hope you skipped your breakfast," Joe said and looked down at the body.

"Allen! Long time no see. Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a few weeks," Eddie said, seemingly surprised to find her here. It was an odd feeling when even her colleagues were shocked to see her at work.

"Uh…I was on vacation," she lied before she turned to the body in front of her. It was burnt black from head to toe and didn't even resemble a human anymore.

"I could use a vacation like that," Eddie joked.

"Yeah, I sincerely doubt it," she mumbled as she knelt down to the body.

"What the hell could do that?" Eddie asked.

"2,400 degrees, give or take," Hayley replied as she examined the body carefully.

"This area's filled with combustibles. How come nothing else burned up?" Joe asked and looked around. Around the body stood a few gas bottles. "Where you going?" He asked when he watched as Hayley climbed a railing to get a better view.

"You see the soot on the ground where the cement is burnt?" She asked as she stood on the ramp and looked down at the long black lines that radiated from the body.

"Yeah," Joe and Eddie replied simultaneously with a nod.

"That's evidence of arc blasts. Happens when high-amperage currents travel or arc through the air," she explained and hopped down again.

"There's no live wires. There's no utility poles," Joe pointed out.

"So how was this guy electrocuted?" Eddie asked, furrowing his brows. But the three of them already knew the answer – this was clearly the work of another meta-human.

"Well, the first thing we need to do is ID him," Hayley said and took out her camera from her bag, taking a photo of what used to be the body's face.

"Yeah. His face is melted off. How's that picture gonna help ID him?" Eddie asked, frowning.

"I got mad skills," she replied with a grin, looking up at him.

"Please don't ever say that again," Joe muttered grumpily before he walked away.

"Hey, are you okay?" Hayley asked as she jumped after him. He spun around and looked at her and she could tell that something was clearly bothering him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" Joe groaned.

"I don't know. You seem a little off – and not just today. You've been like this for the last few weeks," she said carefully.

"No, I'm fine," he assured her but his face still looked unhappy.

"All right," Hayley said and let him go. She knew better than to push Joe. She was sure he would tell her if something was up.

* * *

She raced over to S.T.A.R. labs. Their technology and resources were way more advanced than CCPD's ever could be. Plus, she could use her powers freely without having to watch out for curious co-workers. Sometimes she wondered why she even still worked for the police. She could do so much more, now that she had her powers, than just look into a microscope all day long.

"Hey guys! I have a photo of a burn victim. I need an ID," she announced and held up the photo.

"On it!" Cisco said and grabbed the photo from her. She grinned at him satisfied. She had the best team in the world and she knew it.

"I'm gonna need a moment or two alone with Hayley," Dr. Wells said, turning to Cisco and Caitlin before he looked at her sternly.

"Oh, you're in trouble," Cisco whispered to her with a chuckle and she threw him a look before she followed Dr. Wells into the med bay.

"Now, may I remind you, Dr. Allen, we had an agreement," Wells started when they were out of reach from curious ears. "We would help with your heroics out there while you would help us research and develop your abilities in here, right?" Dr. Wells asked, looking at her. She sat down on the little hospital bed in front of him.

"Yeah. No, I know," she mumbled with a nod. She had to admit she hadn't been around a lot the last couple of months. And even when she _was_ here, she was busy fighting criminals. It was just too easy to get lost in all the monsters and the evil that was lurking outside these walls. "I…I guess I've just gotten a little caught up with being able to help people, you know, put bad guys away. It feels good," she explained with a shrug and he smiled at her.

"Imagine how good it will feel to cure diseases, stop aging…reverse paralysis," Wells said and she nodded, glancing at his wheel chair. More than anything she wanted to help people, especially Wells. She owed him that much after he had saved her life.

"All good causes," she agreed. "So how can I help you do that? You need more MRIs, more blood, or…," she asked enthusiastically.

"I need more speed," he interrupted her.

"Okay," she said. If that was all she had to do to help people, it certainly sounded possible.

"Speed is the key to progress. You need to kick it up a notch," he told her and she nodded.

"Hayley! We got something!" Cisco shouted from the cortex and her eyes flickered to the door.

"This is not just about you. Remember that, Hayley," Wells reminded her.

"Yeah," she said and swallowed before she hopped back into the cortex to join Cisco and Caitlin. She felt bad for Wells. She knew she had ditched him too many times the last couple of months. She had made him a promise and she was determined to stick to it, but right now there was another meta-human on the loose and she hadn't heard anything from the Winchesters either yet.

"Okay, according to the software, there's an 82% chance your victim looked like this," Cisco said as she walked back into the room. She leaned in behind him and looked over his shoulders on the computer screen in front of him. It showed a photo of a body that at least resembled a human once.

"82%?" She asked, lifting a brow.

"Hey, it's your software and it was zero when you walked in here, girl," Cisco said defensively and she giggled.

"Okay, try cross-referencing it with the DMV database. Maybe we find something," Hayley said and Cisco nodded at her instructions.

"The only question now left is, how did he get fried in the first place? Is there a meta-human out there that can control electricity?" Caitlin asked as she thought of different theories. "It'd take a serious electrostatic discharge to cause that level of tissue damage," she said, always being the doctor.

"That's a good question and maybe we find the answers soon," Hayley replied and watched as a name popped up on Cisco's screen.

"Casey Donahue. No wife. No kids. Used to work at the Petersburg electrical substation," Cisco read.

"That can't be a coincidence," Caitlin added.

"That's weird. Someone just used his ID to enter the substation. The Petersburg grid is experiencing a power drain right now," Cisco said and Hayley immediately changed into her suit.

"Hayley, be…careful," Wells shouted after her, but she had already vanished.

* * *

She arrived at the Petersburg substation and carefully followed the sound of crackling electricity. She hid behind a metal container and watched as a man stood in front of the main transformer, wires in hand, as electricity flowed through his body. He reminded her of a vampire, but instead of sucking blood, electricity seemed to be his go-to drug.

"I'm pretty sure this is a restricted area," she shouted as she approached him. She could hear Dean's voice yelling in her ears. It was probably not the smartest decision to run straight into unknown danger. "Easy there, Zappy," she said, raising her arms calmly, letting him know there was no threat coming from her.

"I have to feed," he said as he turned his attention to her. His eyes were glowing light blue. He stretched out his arms before a jolt of electricity hit her. She was unable to move, the electricity holding her there like a magnet. When he let go of her again, she let out a quick breath. Dean had tasered her once to take her fear away and prepare her, but this now had felt way worse.

"Whoa, what was that?" He asked, his eyes widening with hunger as he looked at her. "More of that. I need more," he said before he reached out his arms again. She tried to run, but somehow she was slower and another shock ran through her system. It was worse than the first one. He was draining her, stripping her from her powers. She fell to her knees, the electricity beginning to be too much to handle for her body.

She screamed out in pain. It felt like her insides were getting fried and she wasn't sure how much longer she could endure all of this.

Then suddenly the meta-human let go of her, retreating himself. "Too much. Too much," the guy said, taking a few steps back and grabbing his own head as if he was getting a migraine.

She knew she had to get out of there fast before he would change his mind again. She tried to run but it felt different – she was way slower before she abruptly stopped all together. No matter what she tried, she couldn't move faster than a normal human would.

Her speed was gone.

* * *

The meta-human had disappeared soon after, not even bothering to look for her. She was waiting in front the substation when she heard the rattling sounds of a motorcycle arrive.

She walked over to it while the driver pulled off his helmet with a grin. "You coming from a cosplay party?" Mike asked with a chuckle.

"Ha ha," she said with a half-amused smile. She was not in the mood for any jokes right now. Her powers were gone with a meta-human on the loose, not to mention the MIA brothers that she constantly worried about. Without her speed, she was practically useless.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Mike said, still smiling a little at her and she couldn't help but smile back. "What happened exactly again? A meta-human stole your speed? How's that even possible?" He asked, raising a brow.

"I have no idea…," she mumbled. "Look, can we just get out of here?" She asked and her voice sounded a little panicked as she thought of all the possible scenarios that could happen if she didn't get her powers back soon.

"Yeah, sure. Don't worry. It's gonna be fine, okay?" He said, his hands gently touching her shoulders and his eyes giving her a sympathetic look. She nodded slowly as she looked up at him. Mike was always the person, who believed everything would be fine, and that exact attitude was why she liked him – why she had called _him_. He would always tell her the world would be alright again, no matter how much trouble she was in.

"Did you get me my clothes?" She asked and looked down at his empty hands. He chuckled and reached back to his bike, grabbing a duffel bag and handed it to her.

"Ripped black jeans and an Iron Maiden shirt," he replied with a grin as she looked at the clothes he had picked out. She had almost been sure, he would choose something slutty, but instead he surprised her with something she actually liked.

"Hm, you know me well," she said with a smile. She didn't know if she liked the change she saw in Mike. It was easier when he was just an idiot, who didn't care that much. Or maybe his change just scared the shit out of her.

"That I do," he agreed with a grin and he watched her as she grabbed the bag, walking a few feet away from him.

"Turn around," she ordered him.

"What? You do realize I've seen this before. Plus, I think I should get something for my heroics," he joked and she giggled.

"You wish. Turn around," she said with a smile and he obliged, sighing heavily. She shook her head at him with a giggle before she started getting out of her scarlet skin-tight bodysuit. It was so much more exhausting without her powers and took longer than expected.

"You about ready there?" Mike asked, glancing back a little. She pulled the black shirt down over her head until its hems reached the beginning of her black jeans. She freed her hair from her ponytail, long dark brown and blue waves flowing down her back. He sighed a little, wishing she hadn't turned her back to him, but he still appreciated the view greatly.

"Yeah almost," came the reply.

"Hey! No peeking!" She reprimanded him and he chuckled when she walked back over to him.

He handed her a second helmet before pulling down his own. Her hands found their way around his waist and he pulled the throttle, speeding away.

* * *

"You know when you said you knew where to take me, I thought you meant S.T.A.R. labs…not the _bar_ ," she said as she looked around the familiar environment, spinning around on the little bar stool while Mike poured her a drink behind the bar.

"Yeah, well you looked like you needed a drink," he said with a chuckle before he placed the glass of whiskey in front of her. She looked at him, shrugged and poured down the drink in one go as she had done so many times before. Although this time she grimaced while doing it.

"Geez, that's strong," she mumbled, frowning and Mike snickered. Her throat burnt as the alcohol worked its magic.

"Looks like you can get drunk again too," he said, looking happy at the prospect and winked at her.

"Oh no! I'm not drinking with you," she replied.

"Oh c'mon, drunk Hayley was always fun in college," he said with a smirk and she threw him a look.

"Yeah, drunk Hayley also got into trouble with campus police too many damn times," she added and giggled.

"Hey! I'd like to think I played some part in that," he argued, pretending to be offended that she would take all the credit by herself.

"True. And you were surprised why Joe wanted to shoot you the first time he met you," she giggled.

"Yeah, that's right. His face was so red too," Mike said with a laugh as he remembered that first encounter. Joe had his gun already in his hands when he managed to jump out Hayley's first floor dorm room. But to this day, he swears the broken ankle was worth it.

"You know, I really like this shirt," Hayley said as she looked down at herself and he chuckled. She was clearly a little buzzed and he knew he had to stop pouring her drinks soon. But it felt nice to have the old Hayley back just for a little while. He knew it wouldn't last too long. Being a hero was a part of her and she couldn't just stop being herself.

"I know you do," he replied with a smile.

"How?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"That's what you wore when I first met you," he said with a shrug, like it wasn't a big deal and it hit her now. She _had_ worn that particular shirt when Iris dragged her to that frat party, where she had met Mike all those years ago.

"God, I already hate not having my powers," she said with a deep sigh, changing the subject.

"Why? I mean no powers, no responsibilities, right?" He said jokingly and she shook her head amused.

"Yeah, for you maybe," she said with a chuckle. "But you don't know what it feels like to be that fast and be able to help people. It's…"

"Unbelievable," he finished her sentence and she stared at him. And for a moment, she thought he did know what if felt like, but that wasn't possible. No one would ever know what it feels like. She was alone in this and she was okay with it.

"Yeah…Speaking of responsibilities – I have to call Sam and Dean, let them know I'm out of order for the next few hours," she said and picked up her phone to call Dean. It rang a couple of times before heading to voicemail. She hung up and tried Sam, but still no answer and she frowned. They hadn't responded to any of her texts either and it worried her.

"That's weird," she mumbled. She regretted leaving them alone. If she had stayed there, she wouldn't have lost her powers either. But how many people would've died in Central City? Who would protect them?

"Huh, looks like we have new customers again," Mike said, interrupting her thoughts and looked over at a man and a woman as they entered the bar. It wasn't unusual for strangers to come here, but still, this place was mostly a cop joint and these two looked like they were far from cops.

Hayley spun around and watched them. Her gut told her something was off about these two and she was proven right when they noticed her staring and started to whisper to each other.

"Shit," she muttered, her eyes widening as she turned back to Mike.

"What?" Mike asked, looking at her with furrowed brows.

"We need to run," she said as she slowly got up from her chair and walked behind the bar to Mike. "Backdoor, _now_ ," she ordered him and pushed him a little in the right direction.

"What? Hayley, what's going on?" He asked confused before he noticed the two strangers suddenly started to run at them.

"Go, dammit!" She yelled at him and his feet finally started to move.

They made it through the back into a small alley behind the bar. However, the alley was a dead-end. There was only one way out to the main street. The two people from the bar suddenly cut off their way and they were trapped again.

Of course, demons had decided to kill her, the same moment she had lost her powers and something told her they knew it too. Maybe they had just waited for to get weaker. Their wide grins on their faces just proved her theory even more.

The demons took careful steps closer to the two of them. Mike protectively shielded her with his arm and for once she let him. She was vulnerable and that feeling scared her.

They backed up until their backs hit the brick wall behind them and the demons crawled closer and closer.

"What are they?" Mike asked as they flashed their black eyes at them.

"Demons," Hayley replied, her breathing quickening.

"Huh. And how do we get rid of them?" He asked as the demons took another step closer.

"I memorized the exorcism. I just need time," she explained quickly and he shrugged, grabbing a baseball bat that was lying around near the dumpster. Her eyes widened in terror. "Are you crazy? They're gonna kill you, Mike!"

He ignored her and approached one of the demons, the man, with a determined look on his face. The man chuckled as he flashed his black eyes at him. The demon threw a punch right into his face, but Mike didn't even blink. Instead he swung the bat and knocked the guy to the ground.

Hayley watched him open-mouthed. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. "Hayley, exorcism?" Mike yelled back at her and she nodded, suddenly remembering their plan again.

She had gotten through the first few sentences when the woman lunged at her. She managed to duck in time, relieved her reflexes seemed to work properly at least, and she kicked the woman in the head, throwing her to the floor. For the first time, she was actually glad Dean had insisted that she train combat without her powers as well. Back then, she had thought the idea alone had been ridiculous.

She continued the exorcism, the affects of it starting to show as the woman fought hard to get back up from the ground. She backhanded Hayley across her face, ripping open her bottom lip and it started bleeding. She kicked the demon one last time in the stomach, shoving her backwards into a dumpster.

Suddenly, the other demon slammed hard against the brick wall next to her. She looked back at Mike in confusion, who was standing about 50 feet away from her. How could he have thrown another person that far without even breaking a sweat?

She shook her head, trying to focus again and finished the last words of the exorcism and two clouds of black smoke left the dead vessels and disappeared into the ground.

"You okay?" Mike asked as he came running up to her. His hands gently reached to her lip and he inspected it. "Looks, like a small cut. Let's get you to S.T.A.R. labs," he said casually, but she brushed away his arms and took a step back.

"Mike, how did you do that?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"I don't know. Must've been the adrenaline," he replied with a shrug and swallowed slightly. He couldn't tell her. Not after she had looked at him like she was afraid of him – like he would hurt her. "Come on, let's go," he said with a warm smile and held out his hand.

She hesitated, but eventually grabbed it. It was Mike she was talking to and he was her friend. He would never lie to her.

* * *

"She runs slow even for a normal person," Cisco mumbled as he watched Hayley run on his treadmill. It was unspectacular to say the least and he worriedly chewed on a piece of licorice.

"You can't just lose your powers, okay? Your DNA was transformed by the particle accelerator blast. There's no way to untransform DNA," Caitlin argued as she stood next to her. Hayley stopped running and sat down on the treadmill. She was already exhausted from the five minutes of running and let out a frustrated breath.

"Yeah well, tell that to Mike who had to get me and bring me a change of clothes," she murmured. She had managed to get rid of Mike once Caitlin had assured him multiple times that she wasn't going to die from a simple lip cut.

"So we were wrong. This meta-human doesn't electrocute people – he siphons electricity, thereby removing your power," Cisco said.

"Do we think this is temporary or…?" Hayley asked worriedly and looked up at Wells.

"We have to run tests," Caitlin replied instead, after Wells hesitated, and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah," Hayley sighed. "I've got to warn Joe." She got up from her seat and walked over to the door.

"Hayley, we will find a way to restore your speed. I promise you that," Dr. Wells said with a smile and she nodded. If anyone could figure something out, it would be the greatest mind alive.

* * *

It had taken her forever to get to CCPD and she already hated it. Being called _The Snail_ didn't sound too appealing either. It was like she had forgotten what it felt like to be a human. And worst of all, she felt empty. Like something important was missing from her body and she couldn't function anymore without it.

She sighed frustrated, leaning back in her chair at her desk after she had told Joe her story. How she traced the meta-human back to the substation and how he had sucked her out like a thirsty vampire. How she had lost everything.

But Joe stared at her just the same. He picked up the coffee mug from her table and threw it to the ground. It shattered into a million pieces and Hayley looked at him upset, raising her hands in the air.

"You didn't catch it," Joe said, realizing. His eyes staring at the broken mug and then back at his daughter.

"I loved that mug," Hayley said, looking down at the ceramic fragments with a sad face. "And what part of 'a meta-human stole my speed' didn't you understand?" Hayley asked upset, frowning.

"Hayley, there's no part of anything you can do that I ever understand. What does Dr. Wells say?" Joe asked and looked at her. He didn't trust Wells one bit, but he had a habit of helping his daughter and that's the only thing that mattered to him right now.

"He's working on it," Hayley replied with a shrug.

"Hales, you have to get your speed back. People in this city need protecting, and if you don't get your speed, how the hell are we gonna keep them safe?" Joe said worriedly, confirming her worst nightmares.

"Joe, the meta who stole my speed, he burnt up the body we saw in the alley today. You need to tell the police not to confront him. He's dangerous," Hayley warned him and he nodded.

"Who's dangerous?" Iris asked as she entered Hayley's lab and two surprised faces turned around and looked at her.

"A meta that's roaming the city," Hayley replied and Joe threw her a look. He always hated involving Iris in this, but she was her sister and she had to know. Especially since Hayley had lost her powers and couldn't protect her anymore the way she wanted to. Plus, she had always been a firm believer of 'knowledge equals power'.

"A new meta?" Iris asked, raising a brow. "Well, criminals better watch out. Cops in Central City are the best there are, and if you can't protect this city, Dad, I know The Flash will," Iris said and winked at Hayley, who sighed in response.

"What if she can't? What if she's gone?" Hayley mumbled, looking at her sister upset.

"Gone?" Iris asked confused. She watched her sister biting her bottom lip – a clear sign something was wrong with her.

"Yeah, or maybe she's just done, or maybe it's like whatever she could do before, she can't do anymore," Hayley stammered and Joe and Iris stared at her.

"Huh, Hayley? What the hell are you talking about?" Iris asked, furrowing her brows.

"My speed is gone," Hayley said and her voice sounded devastated.

"What?! How?" Iris asked shocked.

"That stupid meta stole it," she replied meekly.

"Well, can you get it back?" Iris asked and Hayley shrugged.

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "I'm gonna go back to S.T.A.R. labs. See if Wells found a solution yet." She got up from her chair and grabbed her bag frustrated.

"Yeah, you do that. Call if you need anything," Joe said as she walked out the door.

"Yup," she replied simply and they watched her leave before Iris noticed the broken mug on the floor.

"Aw, Hayley loved that mug," Iris exclaimed with a pout and Joe rolled his eyes back with a deep sigh.

* * *

When she arrived at S.T.A.R. labs, Dr. Wells was still working on a solution to get her speed back. She glanced at her dark red suit as it shimmered behind the glass in the cortex and sighed.

"You think I'll ever wear it again?" She asked and looked over at Caitlin, who had quietly kept her company.

"I hope so," Caitlin said, but Hayley could tell, her friend didn't want to get her hopes up too high.

"I didn't have my speed for very long, but now that it's gone, it feels like part of me is gone too," Hayley said thoughtfully.

"With or without your speed, you're still you, Hayley," Caitlin replied with a warm smile.

"But I'm not," Hayley said, tears brimming in her eyes. She was desperate to get it all back. "I'm not the best version of me. I love being The Flash. I love everything about it – the feeling of running hundreds of miles per hour, wind and power just rushing past my face, being able to help people." She smiled at the memory of it and hoped it wouldn't just stay one too. How could she have lost it all in one single day? "I'm not sure I can live without it, Caitlin."

Caitlin gently patted her back, giving her hope it would all be over soon. That they would find a way.

"Hey, there you are. I've been looking for you," Mike said as he jogged into the cortex and she quickly gathered herself again when she saw him.

"Why?" She asked with a shrug, looking at him.

" _Why_? Because I was worried about you after those demons attacked us," Mike replied upset.

"Demons?" Caitlin asked, raising a brow at them.

"You didn't tell her?" Mike asked surprised.

"Long story," she said swiftly to Caitlin and waved her off. They had too many plates spinning already and for now, the demons seemed to be taken care of. The sooner she got her powers back, the sooner she could check on the brothers. If demons had come after her, she was damn sure they had found the three Winchesters as well.

"Farooq Gibran," Cisco said, coming into the cortex.

"Who?" Hayley asked and turned her attention to him.

"The power vampire who jacked your speed," Cisco explained.

"Please, don't say vampire," she said with a grimace and shuddered.

"Sorry," Cisco apologized with a chuckle. "I hacked into the surveillance footage from the Petersburg substation. Once I got his face, it was easy to find a match. He climbed an electrical tower the night of the accelerator explosion. No surprise where his powers came from," Cisco said as he pulled up the meta's details on the tablet in his hands.

Suddenly an alarm went off on one of the screens and security footage popped up on the screen. It showed a video of a man standing outside the laboratories, his eyes glowing blue and Hayley's stomach dropped to the floor. She was in no condition to face him yet.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. This is not happening," Cisco said when he realized the meta-human they had just talked about stood outside their front door.

"Dr. Harrison Wells, I need to see you!" Farooq yelled at the camera and Dr. Wells soon joined them in the cortex, watching the screen closely. "Come on, I know you're inside. Open the door. I just want to talk, Dr. Wells. Wells! Let me in!" He shouted almost desperately.

Farooq angrily went over to S.T.A.R. labs' main generator. He started drawing its electricity and the lights and screens around the team started to flicker before there was a complete blackout.

"Okay, I'm guessing that's not good," Mike muttered as they stood there in complete darkness and Hayley threw him a look. This was the exact situation she had wanted to keep him out of. But it was her fault, she had dragged him into this in the first place and now they were all getting killed.

"I need to call Joe and Iris," Hayley said worriedly and walked into the med bay, phone in hand.

Neither of them picked up their phone and on a hunch, she decided to call Captain Singh personally. Her insides had tied up into little knots and she knew something was wrong. Why was no one she cared about picking up their damn phones?

" _Not now_ ," came the reply after a few rings.

"Wait! Captain Singh, I've been trying to get in touch with Joe or anyone at the precinct," she said, sounding a little desperate. She heard a deep sigh coming from the other side.

" _There's a hostage situation, Hayley, and Joe's inside. So is Iris_ ," Singh said and she swallowed. " _I'll call you when I know more_ ," he said and then hung up.

"Joe and Iris are in trouble. I need my powers back. _Now_ ," she said as she walked back into the cortex. She was just a person, a _tiny_ person in height even. How could she save them? Her voice trembled in panic. Too many fires were burning and she wasn't fast enough to put them all out.

"I have a theory. It's untested," Dr. Wells offered, looking at her.

"I'm willing to roll the dice," she said resolute and Mike looked at her worriedly. He knew she would just jump into trouble when it meant she could save someone.

"Okay, you've lost your speed, yes, but nothing has changed inside you on a subatomic level. In other words, your cells are still primed," Wells explained.

"They just need a jumpstart," Cisco finished and she nodded.

"Okay, how do we do that? How do we jumpstart me?" She asked hurriedly.

"We need to replicate the initial jolt to your system," Wells replied.

"But that would mean a peak current of at least 20,000 kilo-amps," Cisco added and raised his brows.

"Are you insane? That's more electricity than they give to people in the electric chair," Caitlin threw in, uttering Hayley's exact thoughts out loud. She didn't have her healing powers anymore, so if it didn't work, she knew she would die.

"Caitlin, with Farooq in the building, we're all looking at a death sentence here," Wells reasoned.

"The spare generator's offline. If we reboot it, we could get a charge that big," Cisco suggested.

"We need something that can transmit the load from the generator to Hayley's body without shorting out," Wells added.

"The treadmill. My baby could take the charge," Cisco announced proudly.

"What if Hayley can't?" Caitlin asked worriedly.

"Well, that's up to Dr. Allen," Wells said with a small smile, looking expectantly at her.

"What? Hayley, no! That's crazy!" Mike threw in upset. She looked at him and took a deep breath before she walked towards the entrance, where the meta-human was waiting, trying to get in. "Where are you going?" Mike asked baffled.

"I'm gonna talk to him," Hayley declared as she spun around to look at them. She was done with people telling her what to do.

"No. No," Wells said, shaking his head.

"Okay, you didn't see him at the substation. He _needed_ to feed," she explained distressed. "I got super speed out of the particle accelerator blast, but his best friends died. He woke up with a disease," Hayley tried to reason.

"Earlier today, you worked a crime scene where this meta-human electrocuted an innocent man. He's a _murderer_!" Wells said harshly.

"And you're powerless to defend yourself against him," Mike added.

"He may just need help like I did. I don't need my powers to offer him that. I have to try," she said stubbornly and looked at him. It was the same old fierce Hayley he had known back in college. Even without her powers, she had been a badass back then. He had always admired her courage, but at the same time he hated it, because it meant she could get herself hurt. And he wouldn't stand for that – not if there was something _he_ could do about.

"Okay, but I'm coming with," Mike said determined and walked over to her.

"No, you're not! What are you gonna do, huh?" She asked doubtfully, raising an eyebrow. It was always the same argument that had them made break-up, but he wouldn't let her win this time.

"Hey, I held my own pretty damn well against those demons, I think I can handle a psychopathic meta. End of discussion. Let's go," he said to her and walked on ahead. She let out a frustrated sigh and followed him.

Mike pushed the button on the side of the big, metal security door and it slowly rolled up, Farooq waiting behind it, his arms raised and ready to electrocute them.

"Hey, whoa, whoa. Whoa, whoa, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you," Hayley said calmly, arms raised and took a few careful steps closer to the man.

"You _can't_ hurt me. Where is Harrison Wells?" He asked, gritting his teeth.

"Look, I know what happened to you. The night of the accelerator explosion…it changed you. It changed me too," she said and took another step closer to him.

"You were the one in the red suit," Farooq said, realizing. "I fed from you. I have to keep feeding," he said and approached her, electricity starting to charge up in his hands.

"All right, I know this has to be terrifying. That's why I want to help you, okay?" Hayley said, walking backwards now until she bumped into Mike. She suddenly was glad that he was there with her. She certainly didn't want to do this alone.

"The night of the explosion, when the light hit me, it stopped my heart. Jake and Darya…," Farooq trailed off, his eyes becoming sad.

"They were your friends," Hayley said and he nodded, tears shimmering in his eyes.

"I woke up, and they were beside me…dead. They tried to give me CPR. They were touching me, and I electrocuted them," he said upset.

"This is not your fault," she said, looking at him.

"I know. Wells did this to me," he replied, his face turning angry again.

"Farooq, you need to listen to me," Hayley started, but Farooq raised his arms and a jolt of electricity hit her, throwing her backwards. It wasn't as bad as when he had fed from her, but it still hurt like hell. She was starting to think that all of this was karma for tasing Sam.

"Hayley!" Mike shouted and ran after her, closing the door on his way and locking Farooq behind it.

"Not sure how long that will hold," Cisco said nervously as he looked at the metal door. They heard electricity crackling from the other side and the door vibrated with each jolt.

"Done being noble, Dr. Allen?" Wells asked Hayley as Mike helped her get back up. She had enough of getting electrocuted for one day, but she knew she needed to do it once more. She nodded at him firmly. "Caitlin, get her to the treadmill. Cisco, Mike – bring the generator online. Make sure Hayley gets the charge," Wells ordered them, Hayley and Caitlin leaving immediately with a nod.

"What? You're not coming with us? I am not leaving you," Cisco said to Wells, but he shook his head.

"Listen to me. Of everything I've done in my life, of everything I have invented…my most important creation is the Flash. Hayley Allen must have a future. Now, go. Go!" Wells told them and Mike threw him a look before he left with Cisco for the generator.

* * *

The girls had made it to the treadmill and Hayley was still shaking a little from the electric shock Farooq had given her.

"Too bad I'm not healing fast anymore either," she said with a sigh.

"Don't worry. When Dr. Wells has a theory, he's usually right," Caitlin said with a smile.

"What if something happens to Joe and Iris first? Or Sam and Dean?" Hayley asked, looking up at her worriedly. She needed this to work.

They turned their heads outside the little window in the room as the familiar sound of crackling electricity echoed through the cortex outside. Farooq had made it into the building and Hayley and Caitlin managed to duck under the window in time before he could see them.

They both held their breath when they saw his shadow on the floor in front of them as he looked into the room through the window above their heads.

He headed towards the door next and the girls quickly snuck into a little closet, hiding there, but knowing it wouldn't do them much good. He would find them eventually.

"Did you know the human body generates electricity? The average person gives off 342 watts, and I can smell it coming from you," Farooq said into the empty room, looking around. Hayley and Caitlin shared a worried look before Caitlin grabbed her hand, holding on to it tightly.

Suddenly the light went back on, Cisco and Mike seemingly having turned the generator back online, and the girls watched as Farooq's feet moved away from the closet door, leaving the room again. They sighed relieved before they opened the door and Hayley determinedly jumped on the treadmill.

"Turn on the treadmill," she ordered Caitlin.

"You're still hurt," Caitlin argued concerned.

"We don't have time! Caitlin! I can't. We don't have a choice," Hayley said pleadingly. The meta could come back any time.

"If I turn this on, it could kill you," Caitlin argued, looking at her.

"If you don't, we could all die," Hayley tried to reason with her.

"I already lost someone I cared about in this building. I can't do it again," Caitlin said, her voice sounding desperate. She had lost her fiancé during the explosion and she wasn't willing to let that happen ever again.

"Listen…someone told me that I was struck by that lightning for a reason, that it chose me," Hayley said, looking at her. "I'm not sure I believe it. But right now, it doesn't matter what I believe. What do _you_ believe?"

Caitlin looked at her, hesitating before she walked over to the control panel. She nodded at Hayley, who gripped the handles of the treadmill tightly.

Electricity coursed through her entire body and she groaned in pain before the shock became too much and sent her flying through the room.

"My God, are you okay? Did you feel anything?" Caitlin asked shocked as she ran over to Hayley's side, immediately checking her vitals.

Hayley vibrated her hand and for a short moment, it seemed to be working before it abruptly stopped again. "It didn't work," she mumbled miserably. She looked hopefully at Caitlin, waiting for her to come up with an idea, but even Caitlin's face was blank.

They were interrupted by a loud boom coming from outside. Mike, Cisco and Wells were still somewhere out there and so was the meta-human.

Without thinking, Hayley ran outside, Caitlin sprinting after her, and to their surprise, they found a familiar face crawling on the floors of S.T.A.R. labs.

"Tony. Hey, Tony, what are you doing?" Hayley asked stunned and ran over to him, trying to help him back up.

"Oh, come on. You know me, Allen. I never run from a fight," he replied with a smile. He seemed a little out of breath and it was odd to see her former childhood bully vulnerable like this.

"All right, well, stay with me, okay? You're good," Hayley assured him.

" _Run_ ," he coughed out.

"What?" Hayley asked, looking at him before his head became heavy and dropped to the floor. "Hey, Tony. No," Hayley said quietly and she felt tears coming to her eyes.

"Guys, c'mon we need to go!" Mike shouted from behind her. She spun around and looked at him and Caitlin, their faces full of panic. "Hayley, watch out!" He yelled.

She turned around just in time to see Farooq was back and had found them. His hands filled with the blue, sizzling light of electricity, ready to shoot.

Mike jumped to her side, shoving her out of the way before he punched Farooq in the face, throwing him through the thick concrete wall of the S.T.A.R. labs corridor. He looked back at Caitlin and Hayley and noticed their shocked faces. There was no excuse he could come up with this time that would explain this and he knew it. It was over.

Hayley's mind was spinning uncontrollably. She didn't need her speed back to think fast. Was Mike possessed? A monster? A meta-human like her? How long had he known? Why hadn't he told her? She started to puzzle together the little pieces – unexplainable things that happened. Things, Mike always had found a reasonable excuse for. Or were they ever reasonable? Nonetheless, she had believed him. _Why?_

But the answer just made her even angrier.

Mike swallowed hard before he moved over to her, reaching out his hands. "Come on," he said softly and she hesitated for a moment before she grabbed them and he rose her to his feet again.

"I need to take your blood and figure out what happened," Caitlin said as they joined Cisco in his lab where they had found refuge. For a moment, Mike thought she had meant him, but without question Hayley took a step forward and held out her arm for Caitlin.

* * *

"I can't believe he's dead," Hayley said as she jumped on a little table and Caitlin started to draw her blood.

"Dr. Wells?" Cisco asked worriedly.

"No, no. Tony Woodward. He escaped from the pipeline," Hayley said.

"He must have gotten out when the blackout hit," Mike suggested, but Cisco shook his head.

"Not possible. The pipeline was designed to withstand a power outage. Someone had to have let him go," Cisco said and the four of them shared a look. None of them had let him out, so who did?

"I did. I released him," Dr. Wells suddenly said as he came into the lab and they all turned around and looked at him confused.

"Why?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He had never noticed it before, but he didn't like Wells very much. He especially didn't like the way he treated Hayley – like she was his toy.

"To divert our intruder's attention while we worked to restore your speed," Wells argued and looked at Hayley.

"You used him as a distraction?" Hayley asked upset, not believing what he had just said.

"An unnecessary one, as it turns out. It seems the plan has failed," Wells replied coldly.

"I…I have his blood on me. How could you do that?" Hayley yelled at him.

"You're showing a lot of sentiment for a man who tormented you as a child," Wells said, still seeing no wrongdoing.

"Tony might have been a bully then and now, but he didn't deserve to _die_ ," Hayley argued.

"Does Caitlin or Cisco or Mike or me or you?" Wells asked, lifting a brow. "I had a choice to make, him or us. I chose us without a second thought."

"Well, all your talk about miracle cures and scientific breakthroughs, but you don't care about people at all, do you?" She shouted, getting angry now. This was and never would be something she would stand for. She would rather die before becoming one of the monsters she faced daily.

"Well, maybe you care too much, Hayley. I know being a hero is important to you, and I respect your ideals. I just don't have the luxury of sharing them," he replied irritated.

"Oh, I forgot. Your game's chess. We're all just pawns to you, right? So what's your move, doctor? Which one of us gets sacrificed next?" She asked and looked at her three friends, who had been quietly standing by, listening to their argument.

They heard the recognizable sound of electricity coming from the corridors and the lights started to flicker again.

"We have to get out of the facility," Wells said.

"We just left him on D level," Hayley pointed out.

"We'll never make it to the main entrance from here," Caitlin finished her thought.

"What about the garage, the mobile lab van?" Cisco suggested, looking at them.

"It's my move, Dr. Allen, and I say we make a run for it," Wells said and threw Hayley look.

"Oh, my God. Hayley, look," Caitlin interrupted their staring match and Hayley turned to her and looked at the screen in her hands. "Your cells, they're rapidly regenerating."

She vibrated her hand again. But that was all she was able to do. "I still don't have my speed," Hayley said.

"It must be mental, not physical," Dr. Wells said and looked at her. They were by far on good terms right now, but she knew he was right. Her heart felt like it was beating outside of her chest, her breathing heavy and quick, and she figured that's what a panic attack must feel like.

"Oh, you have the yips," Cisco chimed in, realizing.

"The what?" Hayley shot him a confused look.

"You know. When a second baseman all of a sudden can't throw to first," Mike threw in.

"Or a golfer tries to putt and they get all embarrassed and upset, and then that makes the yips worse, and it's a hot mess, and then they feel like even more of a failure," Cisco finished explaining.

"That's not helping," Hayley replied upset, staring at the boys.

"Okay, look, hey," Mike grabbed her attention carefully and made a step closer to her. She tried to avoid his eyes. She still didn't know what was going on with him and that scared her even more. "If anyone could do this, it's you, Hales," he said and she looked at him clearly for the first time since the corridor.

"Look, you asked if I believed you were struck by lightning for a reason, if you were chosen. I believe. You should too," Caitlin encouraged her and Hayley sighed before they heard a loud boom and the ceiling above them vibrated.

"Let's move," Wells ordered them and they followed him to the garage.

* * *

"Second van, keys are inside," Hayley shouted at Mike, who ran in front of her as soon as they had reached the garage.

"Come on," Mike yelled after them as he jumped into the van, waiting for his friends to follow and turned on the engine. "Get in! Come on! Come on," he urged them when suddenly the engine went out again and the roll-up door stopped midway.

"He's here," Wells said as the lights went out as well and his electric wheel chair stopped working.

They watched as Farooq walked determinedly towards the van, hitting it with one big jolt of electricity. Mike flew out of the van and landed harshly on the hard concrete floor.

"Mike!" Hayley yelled worriedly as she ran over to him. She was joined by Cisco and Caitlin, who followed her.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Hayley asked as she knelt down next to Mike on the ground.

"I'm okay," he coughed out and looked up at her. Her hands rested on his chest and he felt bad enjoying her touch and the worried look on her face.

"Did he hit you?" She asked as she inspected him. He stopped her by grabbing her hands, forcing her to look at him.

"I'm okay," he assured her and eventually she let go of him.

"Guys," Cisco interrupted them, pointing his finger at Farooq.

The meta approached them slowly, looking at them like fresh meat.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God. No, please," Caitlin pleaded with him. They all closed their eyes, waiting for that one final hit.

"Hey!" They heard someone shouting from the distance. _Dr. Wells_ , they realized and turned their heads in his direction, as did Farooq.

"You're here for me," Wells told the meta.

"Finally you show your face," Farooq snarled angrily.

"Well, I wasn't exactly eager to be killed," Wells argued.

"Neither were my friends," Farooq replied.

"I _know_. I hurt a lot of people that night," Dr. Wells said calmly.

"People? You don't even know their names!" Farooq exclaimed upset.

"Jake Davenport. Darya Kim. Ralph Dibny, Al Rothstein, Grant Emerson, Will Everett, Bea Da Costa, Ronnie Raymond," Wells said, glancing over to his team, especially to Cailtin as he had taken the most from her. "I know the names of every person who died that night. I know they all mattered, and the fact that the world is now deprived of their potential is something that I have to live with every day, but these people…" He shot the four of them another glance. "These people have done nothing wrong. You want to punish me? Fine, let's do that, but let these people live," Wells reasoned with him.

"You died that night too," Farooq replied slowly, loading his hands with more electricity before he hit Wells, throwing him out of his wheel chair. "You just didn't know it till today."

"No!" Hayley yelled. And then suddenly, she could feel it again. The electricity flowed through her body, taking over.

She raced over to Wells, grabbing him, before Farooq took another shot at him. She left him safely with the others and disappeared in a bolt of lightning.

She stood determinedly in front of the other meta-human, having managed to suit up in the meantime. He wouldn't get a chance to stop her again. Not this time.

He shot another jolt at her and she managed to duck, letting the jolt hit the wall behind her. He tried a few more times and she avoided each jolt gracefully until he eventually got her.

When the blue lightning struck her and she screamed out in pain. She felt like she was caught in the middle of a fire, slowly burning at the stake. It stung everywhere, but it didn't seem to just hurt her alone.

Farooq seemed to be in pain as well and they both dropped to their knees, holding their heads in pain. The light around them then turned into a familiar yellow until it stopped and Farooq dropped to the floor in front of her.

She breathed heavily, the sweat running down her face as she looked at the dead body in front of her.

* * *

"We could have called him 'Blackout'," Cisco said as they watched Caitlin close Farooq's body bag inside the meta-human prison.

"He had a name, Cisco," Dr. Wells reminded him as he closed the door of the particle accelerator.

"I'm just not sure what happened. Why didn't he just siphon all my powers like before?" Hayley asked. It was a miracle she had survived the meta's last attack.

"Because you finally stopped thinking about your powers and just connected to them," Caitlin said with a smile. "Look, this is a sample of your blood from just after you were struck by lightning," she said, holding up the tablet for Hayley to see. "Now your cells are generating more energy than ever before. It was more energy than the meta could safely handle," Caitlin explained.

"It's almost like he choked on you," Wells chimed in.

"But what does that mean?" Hayley asked. Was she faster now than before?

"It means you've kicked it up a notch," Dr. Wells replied with a satisfied smile.

"Dr. Wells. What I said about how you don't care about people, I…," Hayley started to say as Caitlin and Cisco had left the accelerator. Mike, however, was still not leaving her side and she would avoid that conversation as long as possible.

"No, look, Hayley. There is a reason that my biography describes me as arrogant, prickly, brusque…," Wells started to say.

"'At times contemptuous'," Hayley quoted and smiled at him when he threw her a baffled look. "I read it twice," she replied with a shrug and he chuckled.

"You were right. I don't care much for people, Hayley. I find them misinformed, shortsighted," Wells explained and Hayley threw him an amused look.

"So why do you do what you do? Why get up in the morning?" She asked curiously.

"Because I believe in a better future, one that I very much want to see, one that you are a part of," Wells replied and she nodded. "I might not much care for people, Hayley, but I care about you," he said with a warm smile before he left to join the others in the cortex.

"Hayley, can we talk for a minute?" Mike asked, just as she was about to leave as well.

She stopped in her tracks and looked up at him. "Can we do it later? I need to check on Iris and Joe first," she replied and he nodded.

"Sure, go. I'll wait," he said, looking after the lightning as she left.

* * *

She had found Iris and Joe sitting on the big stairs of the precinct. Eddie was being carried out by paramedics next to her. It seemed like he had gotten shot and as she glanced back over to Iris, she could see her sister crying in Joe's arms.

She joined them at the stairs. And for the first time in days, she finally could let go. Tears rolled down her face.

The three of them sat there quietly for a long time, hugging, holding on to each other tightly. And she realized what still kept her here. _Family_.

* * *

The three soon joined Eddie at the hospital when he came out of surgery. Hayley had returned from her coffee run when Eddie was already awake again and stared at the three cups in her hand and the bouquet of flowers in the other.

"Hey, Allen," he greeted her with a wide smile.

"Hey, Eddie," Hayley said with a chuckle. She was glad Eddie was still alive and well.

"Flowers. That's so nice," Eddie said with a giggle as Hayley placed the flowers next to him on the bedside table. "Where were you all night?" He asked. Never underestimate a drugged detective.

"Uh, home. You know, the usual boring stuff – playing board games in candle light and trying to eat all the ice cream before it melted," she replied, and Joe and Iris threw her an amused look.

"I love ice cream," he replied with a laugh, looking at Iris.

"He is on pain meds, lots of them, but he's gonna be okay. It's been some night," Iris said.

"Yeah," Hayley agreed. "Sorry I couldn't be there."

"Don't worry about it. Are you better?" Iris asked caringly.

Joe didn't wait for an answer, though, instead he pushed the vase with flowers of the table, forcing Hayley to use her speed and catch them.

"Dad!" He heard his daughters yell simultaneously as they threw him a look.

"I guess you're feeling better," Joe replied with a simple shrug.

"Oh, yeah," Hayley said with a grin.

"Did you guys see that?" Eddie suddenly asked and the three looked at him surprised. For a moment, they had forgotten he was there.

"You're just high, partner," Joe reminded him.

"Right, I forgot," Eddie replied and laughed and the three sighed relieved.

"So what exactly happened tonight?" Hayley asked and looked at them.

"Crazy criminal got loose during the blackout," Joe explained.

"Don't worry. I shot him," Iris replied with a grin.

"What?!" Hayley's eyes widened.

"Yeah, that's my baby girl," Joe said with a grin and kissed Iris' head.

"What? You think you're the only badass in this family?" Iris asked playfully.

"Never thought that for a second. Where do you think I learned all my badassery from?" Hayley said and grinned at her. "But…I'm really glad you guys are okay," she said, hugging them.

"Yeah, we're pretty happy you're okay as well, kiddo," Joe said, holding his daughters for a little while longer.

* * *

It was early in the morning when she finally returned home. The sun just had started to rise again and she was exhausted after this never-ending day and it was far from over.

She hadn't been able to reach the brothers ever since she had left them at the cabin. She had tried to trace their phones, but the numbers had seemingly disconnected. They probably ditched them on the run, using one of the other two million they carried in the glove box of the Impala.

She didn't want to think about any other scenario than that. Everything else would have just destroyed her.

She couldn't just run back to the cabin either, not knowing what waited for her there. She needed to be smart about this. The brothers would want her to.

But before she could get back to work, she found Mike sitting on the floor, leaning his back against her apartment door. He had fallen asleep, his head resting at the door frame. She sighed as she walked over to him. He probably had waited for her there all night.

Her footsteps rattled him awake and he rubbed his eyes before he looked at her. "Hey," he said, still a little sleepy.

"Hey," she replied as she fumbled for her keys and unlocked the door.

He got up from the floor. "Can we talk?"

"Now's not a good time, Mike," she replied as she walked into her apartment and he followed her inside, closing the door behind him. "I still have a lot to handle first."

"Like what? Another meta-human? A monster? Demons? What's it this time, Hayley?" He asked her furiously.

"Well, somebody has to do it. Seems like you don't care about other people at all," she snapped.

"Just let me explain," he pleaded with her, calmer again.

"Well? Go ahead, Superboy," she teased him, still angry.

"Okay, I'm sure you have a lot of questions and you probably don't even know where to begin…," he rambled on.

"How long have you known?" She asked him with a stern look in her eyes.

"Straight to the point, okay then…" he joked and hoped for a laugh, but there came none.

"Of course, this is funny to you…," she said frustrated.

"No, look, I'm sorry," he said with a sincere look in his eyes. "Remember that part-time job I worked over a year ago?" He asked her with a deep sigh.

"The one in the steel factory?" She asked, hating herself already for being curious. She was supposed to stay mad at him.

"Yup. I was working late there that night, because my boss made me stay longer to make up for the hours I showed up late that day, because we were out all night the day before," he explained.

"Yeah, I remember. We were out with Iris, getting to know Eddie as he had just become Joe's new partner," she said.

"Yeah, well, I was at the factory alone when the explosion happened. I felt a little weird afterwards, but didn't think much of it. Went to bed and woke up the next day. Didn't realize I had super strength until I broke my coffee mug that morning," Mike said and Hayley looked at him shocked.

"You've known since the explosion?!" Her voice was getting angry again.

"Technically, yeah," he replied carefully.

" _Technically_?" She furrowed her brows.

"I wanted to tell you so many times," he said and looked at her.

"Why didn't you?" She asked upset. "I told you about me the day I woke up from my coma. And you know how I felt about my powers and what I went through. How could you just sit there silently and watch?" Tears started coming to her eyes again. She had cried too many damn times in the last few hours.

"Honestly? I was scared," Mike replied and she looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because I'm not you, Hayley. I'm not a hero and I knew you would've wanted me to be like you. And I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a part of that," he replied.

"Fine, than don't be!" She yelled.

"That's not what I meant and you know that! I just wasn't ready yet," he said and their fighting was interrupted by Hayley's phone ringing. She looked at the screen. "Don't get that."

"I have to! It's Sam! You would get that if you cared about anything!" She shouted upset.

"I care about you," he replied and she threw him a look before she picked up the phone.

"Sam? Thank God, you're alive! I've been trying to get a hold of you two for hours," she said, relieved to hear his voice again. "What?! Slow down…okay. I'll be right there," she replied upset as she hung up.

"I need to go," she told Mike as she grabbed her laptop from the kitchen counter and put it in her bag.

"What, now?" He asked, raising his brows.

"Yes!" She exclaimed upset. Why couldn't he understand that?

"Well, that's just so like you," he muttered.

"What?" She asked, spinning around midway on her way to the front door.

"Oh, you heard me! You're just going to run from this again like always," Mike snapped.

"I'm not running! I just need to go. They need me!" She said desperately.

"Hayley, please, stop running," he begged he, but she shook her head slowly in response.

"I can't do this with you right now. I told you – I need to leave. _Now_ ," she said, the tears shimmering in her eyes before she just became wind rushing past his face.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Woohoo! Finally the last chapter of this story is uploaded! Just in time for Comic Con. I know you guys are gonna be sad after there's no more trailers and interviews and panels, but hopefully this story can help you keep your head above water until October comes again. And don't worry, story/season 2 is already in the works and will be uploaded as a separate story in a few weeks.

I'm also really sorry this took so long! I've been promoted at work and well, work has basically become my second home. I spend most of my free time eating and sleeping as much as possible these days. (Thankfully it's just a project and won't last forever!)

Also thank you so much for the review! It really motivated me to finish this up :D I think the question about Joe's phone call has been answered in this chapter. But don't worry the Reverse Flash will be back again and their first encounter will happen in midseason 2. I swear I'm just so excited about the Reverse Flash storyline.

And about Oliver - I've been thinking about this a lot actually. I would love to have him, but haven't found a place for him yet as there is no Star City in this particular universe. Plus, I feel like bringing in more characters right now would get a little crowded. But the Flash does live in a multiverse, so maybe Hayley meets him on another earth. Or I might do something like I did with Mike/Mon-El from Supergirl and give Oliver a different background (maybe he's a real FBI agent and meets the three of them that way). But if you're looking for Jealous!Dean, you're gonna be happy with season 2 and 3 haha ;)

The Reverse Flash story arc will end with season 3, because I want Zoom to be her main protagonist during 4 & 5 (bet he's gonna _love_ the Apocalypse...)

Thank you so much for reading, following, favoring and reviewing this! I love all of you!

So stay tuned for Part 2, which is still untitled (!) and let me know what you think so far and if you want me to do anything in particular in Season 2! :)

* * *

Edit: Sequel is posted! It's called **Fast Lane** \- so check it out!


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